Confessions from a Bottle
by MoreBonesPlz
Summary: Booth believes he is happy in his relationship with Hannah until an intoxicated Brennan reveals her true feelings for him and makes him question what happiness really means.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _We've seen several FF stories where pain meds give Booth loose lips, but I was wondering what we might have heard if Brennan was under the influence and not guarding her tongue? Here's one possibility …. (Set in season 6 in a universe where The Doctor in The Photo never happened.)_

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p>She'd killed a man today. A bad man, but still a man nonetheless. Peter Aldridge, suspected serial rapist and murderer. It was like a scene from a movie stuck on continuous replay in her mind. She kept seeing the surprised look on his face, right before he toppled backwards onto the concrete floor, followed by a pulsing wet red stain on his shirt that grew and grew until he was lying in a puddle of his own blood, his body convulsing violently a few times in the final throes of death.<p>

That's why she was sitting at the bar in the Founding Fathers tonight drinking double shots of whiskey. She wanted to numb her mind. She _needed_ to. She'd been hoping the noise and activity of the bar would provide a distraction from her own thoughts, but it was only helping marginally. She didn't regret her actions from earlier in the day, but that didn't prevent her from feeling the weight of his death on her conscience.

Normally, when she killed someone, she mused, Booth was there to comfort her, tease her, cajole her, or just generally help her feel better and to help her keep her perspective. Except for the time she killed Pam Nunan. Although, with a twisted, almost-inebriated sort of logic, she supposed Booth had helped her that time too because she'd been so caught up in her despair at thinking him dead, she'd not had time to linger on thoughts of Miss Nunan or her role in Miss Nunan's demise. Of course, she chuckled to herself, it's a pretty sad state of affairs when you're sitting alone at a bar reminiscing about what "normally" happens after you kill someone. There shouldn't **be** a normal. Ah, the good old days … _remember when?_

She signaled the barkeep for another round. After all, she had a high tolerance for alcohol and while she was starting to feel the effects of the four? five? doubles she'd already had, she knew it was going to take several more rounds to sufficiently quiet the demons in her mind, even if only for a little while.

Truth be told, the memory of Aldridge's death wasn't the only scene battling for attention in her mind. No, it was competing with the memory of Hannah running to Booth after Brennan had saved him and their embrace. She'd cupped his face and showered him with kisses telling him how much she loved him and how she was going to make sure he knew it as soon as she got him home alone. She'd run her hands all over him – his arms, his chest, his back – to assure herself that he was okay. Brennan had watched from the other side of the room, enviously, silently wishing that she'd had the right to be touching him that way and trying to draw comfort from what Hannah _didn't_ find wrong.

Booth had been so caught up in Hannah's attention, he'd barely acknowledged Brennan. She wasn't sure he even realized that she'd been the one to pull the trigger that ended Aldridge's life, thereby saving his. He'd been on his knees in that dirty warehouse, hands bound behind his back, and facing the other way with Aldridge's gun pointed at his head when Brennan had managed to sneak close enough to get a clean shot. She'd had to sit there for a few moments watching Aldridge point the pistol at Booth, terrified he'd pull the trigger, and wait for an opportunity where the gun's muzzle wasn't directed at any vital organs, in case he reflexively squeezed the trigger when she shot him while listening to him recite the horrific details of his crimes. Thankfully, his reflexes obviously weren't that good and Booth was unharmed.

Now, she sat here remembering the fear she felt when she realized how precarious Booth's situation was, then her mind would flashback to watch Aldridge die, followed by Hannah's embrace. And, as if her memories of the day weren't enough to torment her, her imagination would jump in next and torture her with ideas of just exactly how Hannah might be showing Booth she loved him, variations of the many ways _she'd_ like to show _her_ love, if she had the right. Unfortunately, she had a very vivid imagination. Kind of a prerequisite for being a best-selling author. _Love sucks_, she thought as she slammed her glass down and flagged the barkeep for another round.

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><p><strong>AN:** _Just a short intro … should have next chapter up by tomorrow. Intrigued?_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** _OK folks, here we go. We encounter our drunk Brennan in this chapter. She may seem a little OOC, but that could just be the alcohol. Also, any spelling or grammar typo's you see in her speech are deliberate … she's drunk. Any you find elsewhere are all mine and not deliberate. Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows so far. They're always appreciated._

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p>Joshua, the bartender at the Founding Fathers for the night, glanced over at Dr. Temperance Brennan and decided she was definitely done for the night. Hell, with as much as she'd had to drink, she was probably done for the next 24 hours at least. She'd handed him her purse to put behind the bar when she first sat down earlier in the evening and asked him if he'd call her a cab if he thought she needed one later. Joshua figured that time had come but he was concerned that if a cabbie just dropped her off at her apartment, she might not make it all the way inside safely and Dr. Brennan was a favored, regular customer. He needed to be sure she got all the way home safely. So, he slipped her cell phone from her purse and called the first number on her speed dial.<p>

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><p>The ringing of the phone pulled Booth out from his slumber and he fumbled to answer it before it woke Hannah. "Bones? It's almost 1:00 in the morning" he grumbled, recognizing the special <em>Theme to the Addams Family<em> ringtone he had programmed in for her even in his semi-conscious state.

"Um ... sorry to bother you Agent Booth, but this is Joshua, uh, from down at the Founding Fathers. Um ... well, your partner's here and she's ... ah … she's had an awful lot to drink and, well, I thought it might be better if a, ah, a friend came to get her and take her home, rather than a cab. She's ah, well, she's pretty toasted." Booth was so surprised to hear an unfamiliar man's voice on the other end of the line when he'd been expecting his partner's alto tone that it took a few seconds for Joshua's words to sink in.

"Right. I'll be there in under twenty minutes" Booth replied as he rolled out of bed and grabbed jeans and a T-shirt to put on. The thought of _not_ going never crossing his mind. Hannah turned towards him groggily and he told her to go back to sleep, he had to go help Bones and he'd be gone for a little while. Then he grabbed his keys, phone, and wallet and was out the door.

As Booth drove towards the Founding Fathers, he wondered what had sent Bones on a drinking binge. He tried to recall if he'd ever seen her well and truly drunk before and he couldn't remember an instance. Over the years, they'd met a gazillion times for drinks after work plus they'd gone to a few clubs with their friends, but he'd never seen her drink to excess. Once or twice came close, but she'd always kept a fair measure of her control. Even their very first night with tequila, she'd retained her wits and never got to the point of slurring or stumbling. He wondered what kind of drunk she'd be – chatty? moody? loud or silly? – and decided he was actually kind of looking forward to finding out, if only to be able to tease her about it in the future. He'd thought that after all these years, he knew just about all there was to know about Dr. Temperance Brennan, but apparently not because he didn't know what she was like when totally intoxicated. But, he realized with a grin, soon he would!

Booth walked in to the Founding Fathers and immediately saw Brennan sitting on a stool at the bar drinking what looked like a large glass of water, probably given to her at Joshua's urging. Since it was well after 1:00 AM now, the crowd was getting pretty thin. His initial thought was that she looked almost regal, sitting on the stool like it was a throne, with her back straight and looking beautiful, as always. As he got a little closer, he could see her sway a little in her seat and realized that her hands weren't just casually resting on the bar, they were keeping her balanced so she didn't fall off the stool.

"Hey Bones. How's it going?" he asked casually, sidling up beside her.

"Booth? Wha'r you doin here?" she asked, brows furrowed, her speech slurred and her eyes a little unfocused.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd swing by and see if you needed a ride home."

Brennan gave him a puzzled look. She knew something about what he'd just said wasn't quite logical, but couldn't reason it out right now, so she just nodded her head. "Thangs, I 'preciate it."

"Alright then, let's go" Booth turned towards the door, but Brennan didn't follow. When he turned back around, she was standing next to the barstool, leaning on it.

"Um, Booth? I maybe drank a bit too mush an … the room is kinda spinning. Don' thing I can walk by m'self righ now."

Booth chuckled as he returned to her side. "Here, take hold of my arm and lean on me." He gave her his right arm to hold on to, then he wrapped his left arm around her waist and helped support her as they walked (or shuffled to be more accurate) to his truck. He opened the passenger side door and helped settle her into her seat, then made sure she was buckled in before getting in on the driver's side and starting the car.

"So, Bones, any particular reason you decided to drink down half of Joshua's stock tonight?"

At Booth's question, her first impulse was to tell him that he should know, he'd been there when the day's events occurred after all. For a moment, she felt as though her heart was being squeezed too tight. She was almost overwhelmed with a sense of sadness and regret, believing that for _him_ to be so oblivious to what upset her was a clear indication that he had truly abandoned her. Obviously not physically, as he was sitting right there, but emotionally. She wasn't sure which was worse – someone walking out of your life so you never saw them again or someone whom you used to be so close to simply closing themselves off to you, but sticking around so every day was a constant reminder of what you no longer shared. Of what you ruined with the poor choices you'd made.

There was a time in the past, he would've understood what she was feeling tonight even before she did.

But, Brennan had achieved her goal for the night rather effectively. Her mind wasn't exactly quiet, like she'd hoped, but she was too drunk to be able to hold onto a single thought for any length of time. By the time she actually got around to responding to his question her mind had skipped forward to thoughts of Booth and Hannah.

"You're happy" she mused.

"And that made you want to drink excessively?"

"No. Course not. Jus, wan you to be happy. S'all I ever wanted an _she_ makes you happy." Brennan's eyes were closed now and Booth had to struggle to hear her softly spoken words. He worried she'd be passed out before they got to her apartment.

"Just a few more minutes Bones and we'll have you home so you can get a good night's sleep."

"Not t'night."

"What do you mean, not tonight? Of course I'll get you home tonight. We're almost there now." If he could keep her talking and keep her awake, it would be a lot easier to get her into her apartment Booth reasoned.

"Won' sleep well. Not t'night."

"Bones, you are totally going to pass out and sleep like a baby the minute you lay down." Booth teased her.

"Mmmmm, prob'ly … for a bit." She conceded nodding her head slowly "but jus' til the dreams wake me."

"Dreams? What dreams? Bones? What dreams are you talking about?"

_What dreams?_ Brennan didn't know exactly what form they'd take, so she didn't answer, but she knew as soon as the alcohol wore off enough for her mind to settle into coherent thought patterns again, she'd have dreams. For sure, she expected to dream of blood, and death, and Booth and Hannah. She might also dream of less recent horrors, such as inescapable darkness, and being bound and confined. She'd wake from night tremors, feeling cold and alone and probably nauseous. There'd been other times before when she'd turned to liquor to settle her mind after a really disturbing day and that's the pattern that followed. She didn't do it frequently, the excessive drinking, but she'd known she needed it tonight and she knew generally what to expect next. Unlike her decision to shoot Aldridge though, she likely _would_ regret choosing to imbibe so heavily come tomorrow morning.

Booth stopped the SUV outside her building and gave her shoulder a gentle shake to see if she was still awake. "Still with me Bones?"

"Course Booth. I'm right here."

"Right. You're right. Let's go." He hurried around to her door and helped her out, then did the half walk-half carry shuffle into her to her apartment, just like he'd done to get her into his car at the bar. "Go on into your room Bones. I'm going to get you a glass of water and some aspirin for when you wake up."

Brennan walked into her bedroom and started to undress to get ready for bed. She had just stripped down to her panties and was reaching for an oversized t-shirt when Booth walked into the room.

"Ok, Bones, here's a .. whoa .. sorry, I guess I should of knocked." Booth quickly looked away from the nearly naked woman, but not before he'd caught an eyeful of her milky white skin and her bountiful breasts. Aphrodite was the thought that came to his mind. He'd always known she was beautiful and kept herself physically fit and he wasn't surprised to discover her body was as perfect as he'd imagined from what he'd seen in his quick glance. He had to struggle to keep from sneaking another peak. "I'll, uh, I'll just set the water and aspirin here on the table beside your bed."

Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye as Brennan pulled back the bed comforter, Booth snuck a peak her way and saw she'd put on her T-shirt. He couldn't help but be a tad disappointed about that. "Good night Bones. I'm going to take off now. Give me a call in the morning if you need anything." as he started walking towards her door.

Brennan, finally succumbing to Morpheus's charms, responded sleepily "Thangs for your help Booth. You always look out for me. S'why I love you so mush."

Her soft confession stopped him in his tracks and he turned back to look at her once more. She meant she loved him like a brother or a good friend, right? That had to be what she meant. He walked back to her bedside and leaned over to tuck the blankets around her a little more snuggly than she'd managed to do herself. She was asleep on her side one arm thrown over a pillow she'd pulled into her embrace. Her breaths were finally steady and even. Her mouth was slightly opened and he smiled thinking she'd probably drool in that position. For some reason, he found that thought incredibly endearing. Dr. Temperance Brennan, world-renowned anthropologist, top-selling mystery novelist, master of multiple forms of martial arts and the most intelligent, rational, and beautiful woman he knew, drooling. He reached down and caressed the side of her face softly with his fingers. "What demons drove you to behave like this tonight Bones?" he pondered.

As Booth stood there, watching over her, he tried to recall if she'd seemed troubled when he'd seen her earlier in the day. They'd met each other for lunch at the diner, but Booth couldn't recall anything about her behavior during lunch that would indicate something had been bothering her and whatever had made her act so out of character tonight had to be something big. He didn't think she'd have been able to hide anything of that significance from him so whatever it was must've occurred after lunch.

It was during their lunch that she'd gotten a call from the lab which gave them the clue they needed to figure out where Aldridge might be found.

Aldridge was a sick bastard who had brutally murdered and defiled several women and Booth didn't want Brennan anywhere near him, so he'd left her behind when he went after the maniac. He didn't regret leaving her behind – she was too good of a person to be contaminated by someone of Aldridge's ilk, but he should've taken someone else as back-up. Aldridge got the drop on him and knocked him out, then tied his hands behind his back while Booth was unconscious. When Booth came-to, Aldridge was standing there with a gun pointed at Booth and was telling him in great detail about how and why he liked to rape and murder women. It had turned Booth's stomach, especially when he noticed reliving the murders was giving Aldridge a hard-on.

Booth was starting to worry that Aldridge's vile words would be the last thing he heard before he left this planet when all of a sudden, it was over, and Aldridge lay dead on the floor beside him. Events after that were a bit of a blur as his head was still throbbing from Aldridge's blow. Someone cut his bound hands free, and then there was a flurry of activity as several cops and FBI agents arrived on the scene. Bones was there. She must've been the one to call in the cavalry. Hannah had shown up about 10 minutes later too, right after Booth had given his initial statement to another agent and she'd dragged him away, convincing him to let someone else process the scene this time. His head had hurt too much to argue so he'd gone home, taken some Tylenol, and gone to sleep.

Now, he wondered if something else had happened at the scene which upset Bones enough to explain her behavior tonight. Her laptop was in the other room. Booth knew he could figure out Brennan's password and use it to log into the FBI system to check the incident report, so he did. As soon as he read the report, he understood.

"Oh, Baby"

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><p><strong>AN:** _Next chapter should be up by Tuesday, assuming you're still with me …._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. Here's the next update, a little earlier than promised even. Our girl Brennan is still not quite sober yet._

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p>She'd killed a man today. A bad man, but still a man nonetheless. And she'd done it to save him. Again.<p>

Booth sat there reading the words of the report, sorrow weighing heavy on his mind because after she'd saved him, he'd just walked away and left her there, alone. She'd had his back, like she always did, and he'd abandoned her.

Booth knew intimately the cost to a person's soul that came with taking another's life and he knew that Bones felt that cost just as keenly as he did, even if she didn't believe in souls per se. After reading the FBI incident report and reading the notes written by Agent Reynolds, the agent that took Bones' statement, he could tell she was struggling with the morality of her decision to kill one man in order to save another. It was a topic he had debated with her several times in the past – the difference between good and bad, right and wrong, evil and virtuousness. She'd always maintained these qualities were not absolutes, but existed on a spectrum and all behaviors were judged by others based on their relative positions on the spectrum. She would struggle with where she fell on these spectrums in light of her actions.

After Booth had ditched Bones at the diner, she'd hopped into her own car to follow, just a few minutes behind him. She'd called Angela to explain what they'd figured out and to ask Angela to let the FBI know where Booth was headed and to send backup. That much was in the report. What the report didn't say was that Brennan had called Angela first instead of calling the FBI direct so they couldn't tell her to stand down, like they undoubtedly would have. She hadn't told Agent Reynolds that part, but Booth knew Brennan well enough that he had no doubt that that's what she did.

Reynolds had recorded his conversation with Brennan, as was standard protocol and the transcription of their interview was already in the file.

Brennan was the first one to get to the warehouse after Booth. When she saw the backup still hadn't arrived, she entered the building after him.

**REYNOLDS: So, Dr. Brennan, what made you think it was necessary for you to follow Agent Booth into a potentially dangerous situation?**

**BRENNAN: Booth is my partner. Of course I was going to assist him.**

**REYNOLDS: And you went in armed?**

**BRENNAN: Yes.**

**REYNOLDS: Why?**

**BRENNAN: Because, as you just stated yourself a few seconds ago, it was a potentially dangerous situation. I felt it prudent to be prepared.**

**REYNOLDS: Are you licensed to carry that gun?**

**BRENNAN: Yes. Of course.**

**REYNOLDS: You're a civilian. A scientist. Why do you feel it necessary to carry a gun?**

**BRENNAN: I've had several rather (pause) unpleasant experiences in the past which have convinced me of the wisdom of being armed whenever possible. I do not believe the details of those events are not germane to this investigation. **

Booth read a few more pages of Reynolds asking Brennan fairly mundane questions. Standard interview protocol. Throw the interviewee some easy, non-threatening questions to get them to relax and open up before you start asking the more difficult ones.

Through Reynold's notes, Booth learned that Brennan had entered the building through the same door that he had used himself. _Luckily for her, Aldridge was too preoccupied with him to be paying much attention to the entrance right then._

Once Brennan had entered the building, she'd heard Aldridge's voice and had hidden behind some shelving. At first, she couldn't hear well enough to make out what he was saying, but the tone of his voice had concerned her and she'd crept closer to where Aldridge's voice was originating from until she had a visual on him and Booth. She described for Agent Reynolds how Aldridge had positioned Booth on his knees with his hands bound behind his back and how Aldridge had been pointing his gun right at Booth's temple. Then, she went on to reiterate what she'd overheard of Aldridge describing his previous crimes to Booth.

**REYNOLDS: So, you heard Aldridge confessing to Agent Booth about the rapes and murders of those other women?**

**BRENNAN: No. Not exactly. I don't believe Aldridge viewed his comments as a confession and I didn't hear him specifically refer to any of his victims by name or any other distinguishable characteristic. I believe he was planning to kill Agent Booth and was boasting about his actions, not confessing. The term "confessing" implies a certain level of remorse for one's behavior and a desire to seek absolution. I discerned none of that from Aldridge's statements. He sounded more excited and proud than remorseful.**

**REYNOLDS: OK. Hmm. I'll rephrase the question. So, would you say it is a more accurate statement to say you heard Aldridge telling Agent Booth details of acts he claimed to have performed on other individuals?**

**BRENNAN: Yes.**

**REYNOLDS: And what were the specifics of the claims Mr. Aldridge made?**

**(Lengthy pause on recording)**

**BRENNAN: Mr. Aldridge told Agent Booth that he liked to experiment to see what kinds of different reactions he could get from women when they were consumed by terror. He said he'd used knives and needles and hot branding irons. He said he found it exciting to watch their expressions transition from disbelief of their situation, to terror, to extreme pain, to - in some cases - acceptance of the inevitable. **

She went on to describe other comments Aldridge made, including about how the women reacted to having various parts of their bodies sliced with a knife and about the rush Aldridge said he felt when he saw the life finally leave their eyes. Booth had a vague recollection of hearing Aldridge say the things which Brennan recounted so succinctly, but his head had still been foggy from the blow he'd received, so his memory was not as cohesive as Brennan's. Then she described how Aldridge's behavior had become overly excited and how he'd started to specifically comment on how it was going to feel to kill Booth.

**REYNOLDS: So, Dr. Brennan. At this point you felt Agent Booth's life was in imminent danger? That waiting longer for the authorities to arrive would result in the death of your partner?**

**BRENNAN: Yes. That's correct.**

**REYNOLDS: And so you aimed your gun at Aldridge and shot him?**

**BRENNAN: I aimed my gun at Aldridge, but didn't fire immediately. I had to wait until I didn't think Booth would be killed by Mr. Aldridge if he reflexively pulled the trigger of his own gun. But, essentially, your assertion is accurate.**

She'd gone on to describe Aldridge's death in enough detail to the agent to convince Booth that she'd catalogued every breath and every muscle twitch that Aldridge experienced as the life drain out of him. Booth didn't doubt that she'd be able to recall the graphic details of the villain's death as well as his comments beforehand for months to come, if not longer. No wonder she didn't expect to sleep well tonight and had needed a little help from a bottle.

Booth looked at the clock. It was almost 3 AM and he was suddenly feeling dog-tired. He'd slept for several hours between getting home from the crime scene and being woken by Joshua to collect Bones from the bar, but his head still hurt and he didn't think getting in the car to drive home right now would be a wise decision. He'd just catch a couple more hours of sleep here on Bone's couch, then go. He could still be home before Hannah or Bones woke. He quietly grabbed a spare blanket from her linen closet and stretched out on the couch to get a little rest.

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><p><em>Bones arrived at the darkened warehouse and Aldridge was standing there with his gun pointed at Booth's heart. Before she could react, he pulled the trigger and Booth fell sideways, blood pumping out of his chest until he lay in a puddle of red, legs twitching reflexively. Aldridge looked directly at her and sniggered "You'll always be alone now. There's no one left to save you." <em>

_She looked down at her feet and she was surrounded by snakes. There were so many, they covered her feet up to her ankles. She tried to shoo them away, but her hands were tied behind her back, just like Booth's. She wanted to scream but no sound would come. _

_She looked back up and Aldridge was gone. Hannah was there, crying and telling Booth over and over that she loved him. Bones couldn't move and couldn't speak. She just watched the horror unfolding. Hannah turned to Bones and sobbed "I loved him and he loved me. I made him happy. Why did you let him die? Why Temperance? Why?" Then Hannah knelt beside his body and pulled him to her. "Mine. You were mine."_

_Then, Aldridge was suddenly there again with a couple of the women they had identified as his victims, and Booth was kneeling bound in front of him again, still alive. The women were naked and bloodied. Aldridge was laughing and mocking Booth about his helplessness. He was taunting Booth that killing was fun while he used a large carving knife to viciously slice the women. He pointed his gun at Booth again and was about to pull the trigger. This time, a panicked Bones yelled "No! No, Stop!"_

She sat up suddenly in bed, startled from sleep by the nightmare. Her heart was racing, her breathing was slightly labored, and her head was swimming and disoriented. Her body was still feeling the excess of alcohol she'd consumed and she stumbled out of bed, stubbing her toe and cursing her furniture as she hurriedly fumbled on unbalanced legs to the adjoining bathroom to get sick in the toilet. After she flushed, she leaned over the sink, rinsed her mouth out and splashed a little cool water on her face. Her head was still quite fuzzy and she wasn't yet steady on her feet as she turned back towards the door to her bedroom and screamed, jumping backwards and tripping over her own feet as she fell into the bathroom wall and slid down onto her ass, her heart pumping frantically.

The dark shadow looming in the doorway stepped into the light, speaking softly "Hey Bones. It's just me. I didn't mean to scare you. I just heard some, ah, noises in here and came to check that you were okay."

"Jesus, Booth. You scared me half to death. What the hell are you even doing here?" she asked, confused by his presence in her apartment at all. Her heart rate started to settle down as the fear induced adrenaline spike she'd experienced slowly dissipated. She closed her eyes and wondered whether she should just sleep the rest of the night on the floor. The thought crossed her mind that she'd probably looked pretty comical to Booth as she fell backwards, but right now, she just wanted the room to stop spinning and to lay down and sleep some more.

"I, uh, thought I'd sleep on the couch for a bit until I was sure you were okay, Bones." He stepped closer and reached out his hands for hers. "C'mon. Let's get you up off the floor and back into your bed."

She let him pull her up and then she leaned on him for balance as they walked back into her bedroom and she crawled back onto the bed. Booth tried not to think about how little clothing she was wearing as he handed her the glass of water and aspirin he'd left on her bedside table earlier in the night and told her to drink it all. When she was done, he went and refilled the water glass and brought her a couple more aspirin for when she woke again later in the morning. Booth sat next to her on the edge of her bed and tucked the blankets around her. "Do you want to talk about your nightmare?" he enquired softly.

After a moment passed in which Booth wasn't sure she was going to respond, she answered "No, not tonight." She eyed him warily, not entirely certain she liked him seeing her this vulnerable. "Shouldn't you be at home? with Hannah?"

"It's okay Bones. Right now, I'm where I need to be. Here, with you. You saved me today. You did the right thing, stopping Aldridge. Now, I'm going to stay here a little longer until I'm sure you're alright too. You're my partner and my friend and we look out for each other. It's what we do. Hannah will understand."

The room was still dark – no lights had been turned on during Brennan's bathroom adventure, but Booth's eyes had adjusted fairly well using the ambient light from outside. He sat there in silence with her for a few moments as they both watched the other, their gazes penetrating the shadows to lock on each other's eyes. Booth thought her expression as she studied him reflected an unguarded look of tender regard which he'd never seen there before and he figured it must be either an illusion of the night or the remnants of too much drink.

With a heartfelt sigh, Brennan eventually broke the silence. "She's a lucky woman, to have you. Hannah is. She makes you happy." Reaching out to place her hand on his forearm and give it a gentle, encouraging squeeze. "I'm glad you found the love you deserve Booth. I knew you'd find someone better for you than me. It's worth it as long as you're happy."

Bones had made several references to his happiness throughout the night, Booth noted, and he was beginning to realize that her concern over his happiness was more than just a casual regard. She was almost obsessively fixated on wanting to ensure he was happy, he just didn't understand why. "What do you mean? What's worth it?" he asked softly, their voices low and gentle in the intimate darkness of her bedroom.

"Being alone."

"You're not alone Bones. You'll never be alone. You've got lots of friends who love you. And you just wait, someday you're going to fall in love and the man who captures your heart will be one of the luckiest men alive."

She gave him a look that said without words that she thought he was simply placating her. "I don't think luck has anything to do with love Booth. Besides, my heart was captured a long time ago and I can't foresee ever reclaiming it." She reached up and gently brushed her fingertips across his mouth, looking at him wistfully. "I can't imagine ever loving anyone else half as much as I love you, you know. I don't know what I'd have done if I lost you today." She admitted softly, almost as though she was unintentionally speaking her thoughts aloud.

For a moment, Booth was speechless. The absolute sincerity of her softly spoken confession resounded loudly in his heart. To say he was surprised by the strength of her sentiment would be an understatement. "Bones, but … I don't understand. You didn't want to get involved with me. You told me 'no'. You agreed I had to move on."

"Of course you did Booth and you know what? I was right. You proved that by how quickly you established a relationship with Hannah." She stated with a smug smile which quickly gave way to a sleepy yawn, the alcohol still in her system making it difficult for her to stay awake and focused on the conversation. "You and I, we carry too many burdens Booth. We carry our own burdens, each other's burdens, and the burdens of things we've been through together. When you're with me, you're always serious and intense. Most of our conversations are about murder and death and I know I usually make you angry or frustrated. I don't know how to change that. With Hannah, you can let go of the burdens and the ugliness and merely have fun . . . be happy, not mad. I want you to be happy."

Brennan closed her eyes, smiling gently, and snuggled into her pillow ready to go back to sleep. "I just want you to be happy." She repeated sleepily, the knowledge that Booth, her erstwhile protector, was there allowing her to settle in to a deep, restful sleep without fear of more bad dreams.

Booth sat there a bit longer on the side of her bed, watching her fall back asleep, still feeling poleaxed by her confession of her feelings and her perception of their relationship. He reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her face feeling tenderness for this amazingly complex woman swell in his chest. How could she ever doubt _her_ ability to make him happy? Yes, she's right, she often times makes him angry and frustrated but she also challenges him and makes him want to be a better man. She inspires him with her energy, her confidence, her compassion, her intelligence, and her dedication to truth and justice. The list of things he admires about Temperance Brennan is much much longer than the list of things about her which make him crazy.

The question now was what to _do_ about her confession. Booth was conflicted. There was no doubt about it, a piece of his heart, hell – a piece of his soul even, would always belong to Temperance Brennan. If it wasn't for Hannah in his life, he'd pursue Bones and, now that he knows she loves him back, he wouldn't give up no matter what barriers she tried to throw in the way. He'd find a way to wear her down and get through her walls. But, he _was_ with Hannah now and like Bones pointed out, Hannah does make him happy. She'd been there for him in Afghanistan, when he'd desperately needed to believe someone cared. And, she'd made sacrifices for him, leaving her overseas post to come to Washington DC. He couldn't simply overlook that. She deserved a sincere chance from him to see if they had something together that would last.

Bones' observation about how he had a lot fun with Hannah was correct too. When he was with Hannah, he felt light-hearted, sexy, and desired. Bones' comment about not carrying burdens with Hannah was also correct, but, in Booth's mind, maybe not always such a good thing. If he and Hannah were going to have a future together, they needed to be able to rely on one another and share their burdens, not just be goodtime playmates. Booth wasn't sure what to expect from Bones the next time he sees her following her revelations. He'd just have to play that by ear. But, with Hannah, he figured it was time to stop behaving like horny teenagers and start letting some adult pressures into the relationship to see if they had what it takes to make it work, or whether their relationship would burst at the seams.

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><p><strong>AN:** _Who are you empathizing with more right now? Booth or Brennan? Next chapter's underway and will be posted sometime in the middle of this week – just not exactly sure which day. I have to do some of that real work stuff that pays the bills …._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_Wow - the reviews and interest in this story have been wonderful. Thanks a lot – it certainly helps with the motivation. Now I just hope I can live up to expectations. Here's the next chapter, as promised. It's a bit of a filler chapter, but it helps me move the story where I'm planning to go._

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p>Booth got home around 6 AM and found Hannah still asleep so he hopped in the shower and started getting ready for another day of work. He'd sat on the side of Brennan's bed thinking about her, him, and Hannah until the first rays of the sun started to break over the horizon. Then he'd stood up, kissed Brennan gently on the top of her head, and returned home resolved to focus on exploring what his relationship with Hannah really meant. He'd allowed, even encouraged, Hannah to develop certain expectations about the two of them which meant his relationship with Bones had to take second priority. He owed Hannah a fair chance.<p>

The morning passed uneventfully with each of them going through their normal routines. Hannah had an early breakfast meeting and after asking how Booth's head felt from his beating the day before, she quickly rushed out the door. Booth went to the Hoover and spent the morning working on paperwork associated with the Aldridge case and recording his recollections of what happened at the warehouse the day before for the files.

He wondered how Bones was feeling this morning after her binge the night before and whether she'd been sick again when she woke up. He wondered if she made it in to work. He wondered what she was thinking this morning about the talk they'd had in the middle of the night. He wondered whether it would be awkward if he called her about meeting for lunch. Then he wondered whether it would be awkward if he didn't, since he usually did. He settled on sending her a text.

BOOTH: _Hey Bones. How r u feeling this AM? Did u make it 2 wrk?_

BRENNAN: _Of course I'm at work. Though, Angela complained that I'm cranky today._

Well, at least she didn't appear to be avoiding him.

BOOTH: _Huh. Imagine that._ _Maybe u need food. Bet u didn't eat bfast. How about lunch?_

BRENNAN: _I had toast and juice this morning. My stomach wasn't ready for anything more._ _Diner for lunch? 12:15?_

BOOTH: _Deal. See u there._

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><p>Brennan arrived at the diner first and grabbed their usual table. She was glad Booth had invited her to meet him for lunch. She felt embarrassed that he'd had to take care of her the night before and wanted to apologize, but she'd been too embarrassed this morning to reach out to him first.<p>

She couldn't really remember many details between sitting at the bar last night and waking up this morning. She knows Booth took her home but doesn't recall when or why he came to the bar at all. She remembers he gave her a good scare at one point, but other than that, all she could recall were hazy images. Booth helping her walk out of the bar. Booth handing her a glass of water. Booth sitting on her bedside talking. She couldn't remember what they spoke about though and that made her a little anxious given her troubled state of mind the night before.

She didn't have to wait long before she saw him walking through the doors. And, like almost every other time she'd watched him walk into a room in the last six years, she felt a surge of serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin in her system at the sight of him and a she was helpless to prevent the slight smile that lifted the corners of her mouth.

"Booth, how are you? How's your head feeling?" she asked, referring to the confrontation he'd had with Aldridge the previous day as he sat down on the other side of the table.

"Hey Bones. I'm good. Maybe a little tender still where I took the hit. I should be asking you the same thing. How're you feeling this morning? How's your head?" Booth queried.

Brennan smiled. "Touché. I'm fine. Thanks for the water and aspirin. I think they helped."

"What? No exotic remedies from Timbuktu for you to take?"

"Well, the South Koreans have a soup that is named haejangguk, which literally translates to _soup to chase a hangover._ It consists of cow bones or pork spine, cabbage, vegetables and coagulated ox blood. Alternatively, in Mongolia, they believe a pickled sheep's eyeball soaked in tomato juice and popped into the mouth can fix a night of heavy drinking. Neither of those appeal to me though." She said with a wrinkle of her nose. "I was fine with the aspirin and water with some toast."

"Whoa … wow, that's just … that sounds disgusting. Way to kill my appetite right before lunch Bones."

With a shrug of her shoulders she simply responded "You asked …"

The waitress stopped by their table, setting down a couple glasses of water, and took their lunch orders.

Always direct and to the point, Brennan jumped right in to the topic that was looming silently between them. "Booth, I want to apologize for interrupting your night last night. I didn't intend for Joshua to call you. I'm not your responsibility and I know you've got better things to do than taking care of me."

"Stop Bones. Just stop right there, okay. We're partners and we're friends. We help each other out when it's needed. You don't need to apologize."

"Still, I .."

"No. Look, I get it. Yesterday you had to take a man's life and it's not easy to sleep after that. It should never be easy. I wish I'd been able to give you a guy-hug and some reassurance before I left for home yesterday afternoon, but my head was hurting and I wasn't thinking right. I went home, fell right asleep, and didn't wake up again until I got Joshua's call – and I'm glad he called me. No apologies from you, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks Booth. I'll confess I don't remember much between sitting at the bar and waking up this morning, but thanks for helping me out and putting up with whatever grief I may have given you while inebriated. It means a lot to me." Booth watched the wheels turn in her head as her expression then changed from one of relief to one of annoyance. "And what do you mean you went right to sleep after receiving a head injury like that one? Didn't Hannah keep an eye on you for any of the common symptoms associated with head injuries that could require medical attention? Didn't she check to make sure you weren't feeling dizzy, or nauseous, or confused, or have an increase in head pain or any of the other indicators?"

Booth smiled and shook his head at her. "Look Bones, Hannah's not a doctor, she's a journalist. She doesn't know to do those things and it didn't matter because I was fine. I just needed to rest and now I'm back to being the big, tough FBI guy you've always known." A cocky grin and waggle of his eyebrows following that last statement.

Brennan frowned at him and gave him that _I'm-annoyed-because-I-care-about-you_ look which always made him smile, but did even more today because now he couldn't help but think of it as her _I'm-annoyed-because-I-love-you-and-worry-about-your-welfare_ look, which was even better. "If I'd known you were going to be putting yourself at risk with someone who was medically incompetent as your caregiver, I'd have given her a list of instructions" she grumbled irritably.

Booth smiled and leaned closer to her, looking directly into her big, beautiful cerulean eyes. "You know, Bones, you drool when you sleep."

"What? Why would you say that? I do not."

"Yep, you do. Go home and check your pillow case. You. Drool."

"If I was experiencing sialorrhea, or ptyalism as it's more commonly known, I'm sure it was because of the excessive alcohol in my system. Normally, I do not drool."

"_Ptyalism_ is commonly known?" Booth asked with mocking skepticism.

And with that, things were back to normal. They spent the rest of the lunch break talking about inconsequential things, like many times before. Brennan told Booth about some upcoming book signing activities she need to participate in for her latest novel. Booth told Brennan about an incident at the Hoover that morning where a new agent got stuck in the elevator with Caroline Julian for almost 20 minutes. Booth wasn't sure the agent would ever fully recover. Brennan told Booth about an article she'd read that morning regarding some cheetah cubs that had recently been introduced to the public at the National Zoo which she thought Parker might enjoy if Booth and Hannah took him to see them.

As he listened to her, Booth marveled that she had ever managed to convince him that she didn't have an open heart. All one had to do was look at the little things she did, like thinking of Parker and the zoo or him and offering to provide Hannah a list of head injury symptoms to beware of. She might not realize it, but these gestures were the type of gestures only someone _with_ an open heart would make. And these types of gestures were common from her. She was always researching things based on whatever was going on in his life and giving him little pieces of advice or information she thought he'd find helpful. Occasionally, in the past, he'd found it exasperating. Today, he recognized it as her way of care giving and he felt immensely grateful that she thought he was worth the bother. On impulse he asked "Hey, I've got Parker next weekend. Why don't you come with us to the zoo to see those Cheetah cubs? We'll go Saturday morning before it gets too crowded."

"Oh. No. I . . . I don't think that's such a good idea Booth. That should be a family thing. You don't really want me along. I'd just be in the way." Brennan could imagine it now. Booth and Hannah holding hands. Booth and Hannah giggling and stealing kisses when they thought no one was looking. Booth and Hannah locked in an embrace _not caring_ who was looking.

Brennan liked Hannah. She did. Hannah was an intelligent, driven woman with a fun-loving attitude. But, Brennan preferred to spend her time with Booth or with Hannah, not with Booth and Hannah together. Rationally, she knew they were dating and knew they were lovers, but irrationally, that was easier to handle when she didn't actually see them together for any extended length of time. Then, it was more of an abstract. An entire day spent watching them touching each other, smiling at each other, and laughing together would just be like self-flagellation and she wasn't sure she could maintain a nonchalant façade for that length of time.

"C'mon Bones. It'll be fun. Parker hasn't seen you much lately and he's always asking about you. You've never gone to the zoo with us. You can tell him all about the cheetah cubs and he'll be thrilled."

_Oh Geez, not the Parker card_. Oh, he just had to go there, she thought. She loved Parker and figured he was probably the closest thing she'd ever have to a child of her own. She missed seeing him now that Booth doesn't spend as much of his free time with her. Damn. There was no way she could turn Booth down when he threw Parker into the equation. With a sigh of resignation, she capitulated. "Alright. I'll come along. But, I'll take my own car and meet you there in case I need to leave early."

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><p><strong>AN:** _In the fan-fic universe, Parker's probably the one person who Brennan can't resist even more than Booth. I'm keeping with that theme as it works for me here. Comments are always welcome._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **_OK – based on the reviews of my last chapter I think I have at least a few blood-thirsty members in the audience that would like to see Hannah get eaten by a tiger while at the zoo. Will she? Guess you'll have to read on to find out … _

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p>Saturday morning was a beautiful day with clear blue skies and a slight chill in the air. They'd have to dress warmly to spend the day outside at the zoo, but sometimes the animals were more active when it wasn't so hot out, which could be more fun.<p>

Booth and Hannah were a little on edge with each other and he was looking forward to the diversion provided by having Parker and spending the day at the zoo. The strain was mostly his fault he acknowledged. He'd spent the last week and a half since what he now secretly called _The Bones Revelation_, where Bones drunkenly and unknowingly confessed her feelings, trying push his relationship with Hannah into a more serious direction. He'd realized he didn't really know much about Hannah's life from before they met, so he'd asked her questions about her family, where she grew up, what her childhood was like, and why she got into journalism. She'd answered some questions, evaded others, and then accused him of interrogating her. He'd tried to subtly discover if there were any significant events in her past that someone who was sharing a life should know about, but he hadn't gotten very far.

He could, of course, use his FBI resources to find out everything he wanted to know about Hannah, but it wasn't just the knowing that was important, it was the sharing and Hannah seemed reluctant to share anything of significance. She preferred to tell stories like the one about the time she and her camera man got drunk on Raksi, an alcohol distilled from millet, while in Nepal and snuck into a Hindu Temple where they had previously been denied access. Or the time she and another female colleague from her news outfit sunbathed topless in a spot where they knew the marines in the nearby barracks would be able to see them. More meaningless adventure stories as opposed to life altering events.

He recalled a conversation he'd had with Bones when they first started working together where he'd told her that if she wanted to know something about him, she needed to be willing to reveal something about herself. Quid pro quo. With that in mind, he'd tried to initiate a handful of conversations with Hannah by revealing something sensitive about his past. She never seemed to bite. For an investigative journalist, she was remarkably _not curious_ about his past.

Case in point, he thought back to their dinner at the beginning of the week at a little hole-in-the-wall steakhouse downtown near Hannah's office.

_The waiter filled each of their glasses about 1/3 full of a nice Cabernet and placed the opened bottle beside them._

"_Mmm. This is tasty. You're not generally much of a wine kind of guy, are you Seeley?" Hannah observed as Booth raised his glass to his lips._

"_I enjoy a nice glass from time to time but, yeah, I'm probably more of a beer drinker than a wine drinker." He admitted, thinking it was probably in part due to the standard burgers, pizza, and microwave dinners type diet of a bachelor dad. Wine just didn't often fit his current lifestyle._

_Hannah looked up at him "I know you also enjoy a good scotch or whiskey in the evenings at home too on occasion."_

_Booth recognized this as a golden opportunity to open up and let Hannah know a little about his past. Still, it was hard and he had to force the words past his lips as he looked down at the napkin in his lap, then back up to Hannah's eyes. "I enjoy a drink at the end of the day to help me unwind, but I try very hard not to drink to excess. My father was an alcoholic and I don't want to follow in his footsteps that way." There. He'd said it. One of his dark, ugly secrets was out. He watched her face closely for her reaction and saw . . . nothing. _

_Hannah shrugged "Studies show that nearly 17 million people in the USA are affected by alcohol abuse or dependency. It's the oldest and most widely used drug in the world. Statistically it's a more prevalent problem amongst men than women by about a 2-to-1 ratio." From there, she launched into a lengthy and passionate discourse on alcoholism. _

_Part of him was relieved. Relieved to have aired a secret that he still protected so diligently and relieved that she didn't seem appalled by his confession. Another part of him was disappointed. Disappointed that she didn't understand at all what that admission had meant to him._

They'd ended up having an interesting philosophical discussion about the role of alcohol in American society, but she wasn't inclined to ask any questions about the impact it had on his home life as a child and Booth didn't reveal to her about his father's abusive tendencies.

A few days later, he had a similar experience when he mentioned to her that he'd briefly been a POW early on in his military career. She'd responded with facts about POW's and some of the ongoing efforts to find some soldiers that are currently suspected to be POWs, but again, almost no questions about his personal experience. She'd casually turned a conversation about one of the most difficult experiences of his life into an impersonal discussion focused on political maneuvering and modern day military policies.

This frustrated him and made him irritable because he was struggling to see himself building a future and spending his life with a woman who seemed to only be interested in NOW. To Booth, a shared life included the past, the present, and the future. It should be a full package deal.

To make matters worse between them, Booth and Hannah hadn't had sex since before _The Bones Revelation_ almost 2 weeks ago either and he was running out of viable excuses to put Hannah off.

Booth was sure Sweets would have a field day analyzing his issues on this, but when he'd sat on Brennan's bedside watching her sleep and contemplating her observations regarding his relationship with Hannah, he'd found himself questioning whether the relationship that existed was really the one he thought it was – the one he wanted. He'd left Brennan's apartment that early morning determined to prove that what he had with Hannah was real and enduring - not just some shallow sex and laughs liaison. However, with each passing day he was less sure it wasn't exactly that.

In the meantime, something in Booth's personal Code of Honor had made him decide that it would demean his relationship with Bones if he continued having sex with Hannah while he was feeling uncertain about what he and Hannah had going on. He'd lectured Bones so many times about making love versus casual sex that he couldn't bring himself to be intimate with Hannah while questioning whether what they shared might be just sex, not lovemaking, without feeling like a hypocrite.

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><p>Booth and Hannah picked up Parker from his mom's place, then went to the diner for breakfast before they were scheduled to meet Bones near the Kids Farm area of the zoo later that morning. The Kids Farm area was right by one of the zoo entrances and had cows, goats, donkeys, pigs, and alpacas. Parker was super excited when his dad told him they were going to be meeting Bones there. As they approached the Kids Farm area, Parker saw Brennan standing near the Alpaca pen and ran ahead of Booth and Hannah to greet her.<p>

"Dr. Boooooonnees" he yelled, running towards her as fast as he could. Brennan turned and saw the small curly haired Booth barreling her way and braced herself for the pending impact as Parker threw himself into her arms. She happily accepted and returned his embrace with equal enthusiasm. She even succumbed to the impulse to press a quick kiss to the top of his head, hoping that no one noticed.

"Parker. Wow, look how big you're getting. I've missed you." She'd barely seen him since before leaving for the Maluku Islands almost a year earlier and he was starting to lose some of that little boy look now that he was 10-years old. She could see similarities to Booth in the bone structure of his face becoming more prominent as his face was starting to mature.

"Dr. Bones. I'm so glad you could come with us today. I didn't get to come to the zoo at all while you and Dad were away. When I told my friend, Jeremy Winewski that you were in Indonesia, he said that some people there ride elephants. Have you ever ridden an elephant?"

Brennan smiled at Parker's exuberance. "Yes, I've ridden elephants before Parker, but not on my most recent trip to Indonesia. There is a rather well known elephant safari park in Taro Ubud, Indonesia, but I wasn't in that part of the country on this latest trip. It's considered one of the best elephant parks in the world and has the only complete Mammoth skeleton in all of South East Asia."

"Then what kind of animals did you see?"

"Well, the Maluku's are probably best known for their aquatic wildlife – reefs full of colorful fish, sea turtles, eels, and octopi. On the islands themselves, where I was, they've an abundance of beautiful birds, cuscus, bandicoots, and, of course …" she shuddered "… snakes."

Brennan and Parker fell comfortably right into their routine of old, like the last year apart had never occurred. As they wandered through the zoo, Booth couldn't help but compare and contrast how Parker related to Bones versus how he related to Hannah. Hannah smiled at Parker and responded to his questions or comments, often teasing or joking with him, but she seldom pushed to engage him or initiate dialogue. Brennan, on the other hand, completely captivated Parker. She challenged him with questions about the animal behaviors he observed and encouraged him to offer explanations, praising him when he responded correctly and offering simple explanations when he didn't have the answers.

Booth was certain that Parker was learning more about the animals of the zoo today than he had in the previous 20 or so visits they'd made combined and it was all due to Bones. She entertained him with interesting trivia relevant to whichever exhibit they were visiting and regaled him with several tales of animal misadventures she'd experienced in her travels, some of which had Booth's protective instincts stirred in horror. There was no doubt in his mind that when Parker looked back on his trips to the zoo years from now, this was the day that he would recall. It would certainly be that way for Booth.

As they approached the cheetah exhibit, they could see two of the new cheetah cubs frolicking in the grass, the cool weather making them feel a little frisky.

Parker leaned against the exhibit rail and pointed excitedly "Look Bones. Those two are chasing each other around."

All three adults joined him at the rail. "Ouch" Booth commiserated as one of the cubs tackled the other "that looked painful."

Brennan smiled and shook her head. "Their playful wrestling antics are how they develop the necessary skills to survive as adults." She turned to Parker. "Did you know that in the 16th century, emperors and other members of royalty actually trained cheetahs and used them to hunt gazelles?"

"That's so cool." Parker answered, laughing as he watched the small spotted balls of fur rolling around in the grass, pawing at each other's faces before getting up to run around then tackle each other again. "Listen. You can hear them making little baby growling noises at each other. That's so cute."

Leaning down so that her cheek was right next to Parker's as they watched the cubs, Brennan said "Look closely. What do you notice about their tails?"

Parker scrunched his brow and stared intently at the cubs before answering "Well, they're pretty long as far as tails go. And … they have a combination of stripes and spots on them." He glanced over at Brennan for affirmation.

"Very good Parker." She answered warmly. Placing one arm on his shoulders and pointing with her other "if you look real close, you can see that the patterns on each cheetah's tail are unique. They are as individual as fingerprints are to humans. The patterns on the tail are how some zoologists identify individual cheetahs within a pack."

"Their tails are also important in helping them run as fast as they do" Hannah chimed in.

Parker looked up at her skeptically "How can having a tail make you run faster?"

"Uuuh, well, I'm not exactly sure. I just remember hearing that they were important."

"Hannah's right" Brennan interjected, seeing Parker's doubtful expression. "While the tails don't make the cheetahs actually run any faster, they do help the cheetahs maintain control as they run, especially at high speeds. Kind of like a rudder on a sailboat. The cheetah uses its tail to help them balance and make quicker turns."

"Awesome." Parker smiled, turning back to watch the cheetahs for a little longer before turning to Brennan again "I'm so glad you could come with us today, Bones. This is the best zoo trip ever."

Brennan looked down at Parker and felt her heart swell with pride and happiness for the umpteenth time that day. Parker had held her hand most of the day as he dragged her from one favorite exhibit to the next. Generally speaking, Brennan didn't like zoos as she felt animals should be free to live in the wild and didn't enjoy seeing them in a restricted environment, even though she understood many zoos were actually rescue shelters for animals that otherwise would not survive. But she had enjoyed her day with Parker immensely. Booth and Hannah had hung back a little at times, almost making her feel like she and Parker were on a chaperoned date, but she'd had too much fun to care. Thankfully, Booth and Hannah had not been demonstratively affectionate towards each other, which had been one of Brennan's concerns.

"Thanks Parker" she reached out and gently ruffled his curls with affection. "I've had fun."

Knowing they were basically at the end of the day, having visited all the exhibits now, Parker turned to Booth. "Can we get some popcorn and a soda before we go home?"

"Sure thing Parks."

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><p><strong>AN:** _So, no tigers eating blonde journalists this time around. Hope you're not too disappointed. I admit to being a little intimidated by having so many followers and hope I'm keeping you all happy. Next chapter tomorrow. Comments are always welcome._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** _Once again, thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. Very inspirational. I've tried to keep up with responding, but to those of you guests that I can't reply to, I'd like to thank you too. There've been some very thoughtful comments posted and I appreciate them all. _

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p>Parker chattered incessantly about the trip to the zoo the whole way home. He revisited everything they saw as though Booth and Hannah hadn't been right there with him and had never seen a zoo before.<p>

When they finally got back to Booth's apartment, Booth plopped himself down on the couch with some paperwork he'd brought home and turned on the TV to watch whatever was showing on ESPN while Parker sat down beside him with a hand-held video game. Hannah said she was going to go rest in their bedroom and read a book for a bit.

After a couple hours went by, Parker turned to Booth and asked "What's for dinner tonight Dad? I'm starting to get hungry."

"I thought we could grab a pizza from DiAngelo's down the street. How's that sound?"

"Great. I want pepperoni. Oh, and some of those twisted garlic rolls they make too."

Getting up from the couch Booth replied "OK Bub. Let me just check and see what Hannah wants and I'll call in the order."

As he approached his bedroom door, Booth could hear Hannah speaking and found himself hesitating before opening the door. _" . . . Yeah, I know . . . Not really my thing . . . OK, give me a couple minutes to go out to the other room, then call me right back . . . Thanks . . . Yeah, first round's on me . . ."_ For some reason he couldn't quite pinpoint, Booth's instinct had him turning around and heading back towards the kitchen without letting Hannah know he was there.

Booth got a glass out of the cupboard and poured himself some ice-water while he took a moment to ponder why his gut was telling him something wasn't quite right and hoping he was wrong about what he thought he'd just overheard. Hannah sauntered in to the kitchen almost right behind him.

"Hey" she said, smiling lightly at him.

"Hey. Get some rest?"

"Yeah. I'm feeling better."

"So, I was thinking DiAngelo's for dinner. Parker wants pepperoni pizza. How 'bout you?"

"Oh. Uh … where is the copy of the take-out menu? I'm not really in the mood for pizza tonight."

Booth pulled a white folded paper menu with red text out of one of the kitchen drawers and handed it to her. He wasn't certain, but thought she may have glanced at the clock before accepting the menu and studying it like she'd never seen it before, even though they'd eaten at DiAngelo's several times in the past. When her phone rang a minute later, Booth was sure he'd seen a look of relief flicker in her eyes as she set aside the menu and quickly answered the call.

"_Hello. This is Hannah . . . Oh, hey Melissa . . . I know, I haven't seen you in forever. How're things going these days? . . . Really? This weekend? . . . That sounds great. Did you have anything specific in mind? . . . How about in 1 hour at the Capitol Grille? . . . okay, sounds good . . . see you then."_

"So, uh, Seeley. That was an old girlfriend of mine that I haven't seen in a couple years. Uh, she's in town for the weekend and was hoping to get together with me, you know, to catch up on gossip and whatnot. You don't mind if I go hang out with her for a while do you?"

"No. No, of course not. You go out and have fun with your friend." Booth didn't know if she really had a friend visiting from out of town or not, but he was pretty sure that she had staged that phone call to get her out of the apartment for the evening and at the moment, he thought it might be better if they spent a little time apart while he decided exactly how pissed he felt about that. He didn't want to have a confrontation with her over it while Parker was in the next room.

Hannah leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "You're the best, Seeley. No wonder I love you. I promise I'll make it up to you." She purred with a sultry smile before she cheerily bounced off towards their bedroom to shower and change.

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><p>By the time Booth and Parker got back from picking up their dinner, Hannah was gone. The movie <em>Percy Jackson &amp; The Olympians: The Lightening Thief<em>, one of Parker's recent favorites, was playing on cable TV so they set up their dinner on the coffee table and hunkered down to watch.

"Dad?"

"What's up, Parks?"

"Did Hannah go out tonight to get away from me?"

Booth looked over at his son and saw the serious concern on his innocent face. To be honest, Booth didn't know the true answer to Parker's question and he'd been asking himself variations of the same thing for the last hour or so, but there was no way he was going to share his doubts with Parker. "No way kiddo. It's like I told you earlier. A friend of hers showed up in town that she hasn't seen in a long while and she wanted to go visit with her for a bit."

"OK. I know I've only met her a few times now, but I want her to like me because I know how much you like her."

"Hannah thinks you're great" Booth reassured him. "She hasn't spent a lot of time around kids, so she's not always sure how to act, but that's got nothing to do with her not liking you, got it?"

Parker nodded his head, then went back to watching the movie and Booth wondered whether he was expecting too much from Hannah too soon. She and Parker obviously weren't that comfortable around each other yet, but, as Parker said, they had only met a few times and trust takes time to build. She did make the effort to accompany them today even if it was '_not really her thing'_.

A little more time passed.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"When Tommy's dad got remarried, he had more babies and moved to another city and Tommy doesn't see him hardly at all anymore. If you and Hannah get married and have babies, will I still be able to come over and hang out with you sometimes?"

_Whoa, that's a question with a lot of landmines in it_, Booth thought. He turned to face Parker, putting his hand on his son's shoulder to help convey that he was taking Parker's concerns seriously. He took a quick moment to organize his thoughts as he looked down into those anxious brown eyes that resembled his own.

"Let's get a couple things straight here Parker. First, you are THE best thing that has ever happened to me in my life and I'm not going anywhere. I realized during my last tour in Afghanistan that no matter what, here with you is where I need to be. Where I _want_ to be. Got it?"

"Yeah. That's cool."

"Second, Hannah and I, we're still just getting to know each other and figuring out whether we belong in a long term relationship. We're not getting married anytime soon."

"Huh. Mom says she doesn't want any more kids, but that she thinks you'd like to get married and have more someday. Is she right?"

"Yeah Parker. I'd love to have another kid or two, especially if they're as awesome as you, but it's got to be with the right woman." Unbidden, an image of Bones holding a baby in her arms popped into his mind and he quickly pushed it aside. He'd have to explore what that meant later. "Hannah's a good bit younger than me and right now, she's focused more on her career than on building a family. If she decides to have kids, it probably wouldn't be for several more years."

As Booth spoke the words, he realized he'd not ever really thought about the implications much. Hannah _was_ a good bit younger. If she and Booth built a life together, it probably meant no more kids or else it meant starting a family several years from now. He could be changing diapers while his first born graduates from high school. Was that what he wanted?

Parker, seeming satisfied with the answers he received went back to watching the movie. Booth got up to put the leftover pizza away in the kitchen and grab another beer from the refrigerator. While he was out of the room, Parker had obviously been thinking again because when he came back, the inquisition continued.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Parks?"

"Are you still friends with Bones?"

"What? Of course, buddy. Bones and I will always be friends. Why would you ask such a question?"

"Well, we almost never see her anymore and you don't talk about her like you used to. We used to have a lot of fun with her and, well, I kinda miss that."

"I know. Sometimes I miss it too buddy. But I'm dating Hannah now."

Parker looked at Booth with a puzzled expression "But if you and Bones are still friends and you weren't dating her before then what does dating Hannah now have to do with it?"

Booth took a deep breath and sighed. "It's complicated. Even though Bones and I weren't dating, now that I'm dating Hannah, it's expected that I'll spend most of my time with her, not Bones. That's what you do when you're dating someone. You spend your free time with them. Bones and I still hang out together when we're working."

Parker mulled that over for a moment. "So, if Bones starts dating someone, she won't be able to spend any more of her free time with us?"

"Bones is not dating anyone." Booth responded emphatically.

Parker persisted. "But she could, right? I mean, she's pretty, and smart, and funny. She must get asked out on lots of dates by different guys, right? Don't you think she'll eventually find one she wants to date?"

Booth hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about Bones dating since he'd returned from Afghanistan. She never mentioned it and he just assumed that meant she wasn't doing it. But what if she was? He thought of her tender confession the night she drank too much and while she'd indicated she had feelings for Booth, she'd also acknowledged she wasn't expecting them to ever be in a romantic relationship. She'd made enough comments over the years for him to accept that even though she was somewhat skeptical of the power of love, she longed to experience it. There was nothing preventing her from looking for love with someone else.

"I suppose she could Parker. I suppose she could." As unreasonable as it seemed, Booth found he didn't really like that idea.

"I bet Bones would make a great mom." Parker mused, turning back to the TV and the image of Bones with a baby that Booth had earlier banned from his mind, popped back up again as Booth silently agreed with his son.

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><p>After the movie was over and Parker tucked in to bed, Booth poured himself a glass of scotch, turned on some soft jazz music in the background, dimmed the lights, and dropped into his recliner to think. Parker's innocent questions throughout the night had exposed additional facets of his current situation to light which he hadn't really been considering and he had a lot of things to ruminate on.<p>

He pulled up his phone and read again the text Hannah had sent earlier.

_Planning 2 stay up late 4 girl talk. Sleeping at M's 2nite. c u tmrw_

Booth hadn't been surprised when the message came in. He certainly hadn't expected to see her again before going to bed himself. _Hannah, Hannah, Hannah. What to do about Hannah?_ One thing had become clear to him in the last week or so. He didn't completely trust her. He didn't trust her enough to fully open up about his past. He didn't trust her with Parker's happiness. And, he didn't trust that she was being honest with him tonight. Trust was a key imperative of a healthy relationship. He was ready to admit to himself that he couldn't really truly be in love with her if he didn't trust her, but would trust (and love) between them grow stronger with time? Or diminish? Was he expecting too much, too soon? Or were the fissures he saw in their relationship just going to grow into yawning chasms with time? If they did work things out and stay together, what would their life be like in 5, 10, 20 years? And was that what he wanted?

These were the types of thoughts that kept him company the remainder of the night.

The next day, Booth and Parker ate pancakes for breakfast, went to church for the morning mass, then hung out at the park for a bit playing ball before Booth returned Parker to Rebecca's house.

When Hannah finally wandered back home later that afternoon, she encountered a grim looking Seeley Booth who simply looked at her and said "Hannah. I think we need to talk."

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><p><strong>AN:** _Don't know if this can be considered a cliffie since I expect most folks can guess what's coming next. Hope to have the next chapter up by tomorrow evening. Comments are always welcome._


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** _This chapter is a little different in style. Very introspective with no real character interaction, but sets the stage for moving forward. _

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p>Seeley Booth needed a plan.<p>

It was a Saturday afternoon and the next day would commemorate one week since Hannah had moved out – out of his apartment and out of his life. Booth discovered he had no regrets and didn't even really miss her much at all.

Booth believed in the power of commitments. He believed that loving someone meant working through the challenges and tough times together. But he hadn't had much success turning this belief into a lasting reality and he was determined to change that.

Rebecca, Parker's mom, hadn't felt the same level of obligation as him and she'd dumped him without really giving them a chance to see if they could work things out. The commitment issues for that one were hers.

Next came Tessa. She'd abandoned the field of battle before the first cannon was fired. They'd dated for several months, fairly steadily and monogamously, but as soon as Angela had implied their relationship was on course for a "future" destination, Tessa had grown fleet of feet and headed for the hills. She'd been the balker, not Booth.

With Bones, he grudgingly admitted he largely owned that one. He'd given up the war after losing just one battle – a battle he'd initiated with no strategic planning at that. It had been brutal and painful and he'd walked away in defeat, too wounded at the time to consider what it meant that the victor claimed no spoils. Looking back on that night in front of the Hoover when he'd dared Bones to risk their partnership on something new, and seeing it through the filter of what he knew now, he realized the fortress around her heart was not impenetrable. He'd just executed a poorly planned attack with the wrong munition.

Then came Hannah. He'd told her he loved her. He'd wanted to build a life with her. He'd made a commitment to her, opening his heart and his home and she'd moved right in. But recently he'd really looked at where their life together was going and realized it wasn't the life he wanted and he'd felt trapped by his commitment. He'd struggled with ending their relationship as it was the first time _he'd_ had to retract his promise to be there for someone.

When Hannah had come home from her night out with her friend Melissa, Booth had sat her down and told her quite bluntly what he wanted, what he _needed_ from her for their relationship to continue. He knew Hannah was hurt by his dissatisfaction and subsequent withdrawal from their affair, but she must have also had some reservations about _them_ as she'd not fought back very hard when Booth had laid out the issues as he perceived them. In the end, he and Hannah both agreed she wasn't going to be able to give him what he was after and they'd acknowledged it was time to bring their chapter together to a conclusion. Their parting of ways, while not exactly comfortable, was as amicable as could be expected under the circumstances. That said, he wasn't expecting to get any Christmas cards from her.

Once he'd finally conceded that they were never going to live happily ever after together – not his vision of it or anyone else's – he'd felt relieved, liberated, and even oddly victorious in the face of yet another failed relationship.

Now, he had a new objective. One with blue eyes, and he found he was eagerly anticipating the challenge.

One thing he had definitely learned while operating as a Ranger in the Army was that the odds of success for every mission were greatly increased by a good plan. This time, Booth was going to apply the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) to help him figure out the most effective way to woo Bones.

Step 1: Determine the Mission_._ That was easy. His goal moving forward was to get Brennan to give them a chance. She loved him. He'd never stopped loving her . . . he'd just been temporarily distracted. But not any longer. They belonged together and his mission was to convince her of that.

Step 2: Mission Analysis_._ This is the phase where the mission challenges get defined, intelligence gets gathered, risks evaluated, assets examined, and feasible solutions are developed.

Booth foresaw several difficulties he'd have to overcome to achieve his goal and no doubt, there would be additional complications he didn't predict that would crop up along the way. It's Temperance Brennan he was talking about after all. _They could put her picture in the dictionary next to the word complication_ he thought with tender amusement.

For one thing, he knew he'd have to proceed cautiously. She viewed his affair with Hannah as proof that he hadn't really loved her before. If he moved too quickly now, she'd judge him as simply being fickle in his affections and she would doubt the veracity of any claims he made towards his feelings for her. No. He blitzed her that night outside the Hoover when he'd first declared he wanted to give them a chance and then moved on before giving her brain a chance to catch up with her heart. This time, he needed to move slow enough to make her trust in him and to convince both her brain and her heart simultaneously that they were meant for each other.

He also knew now that she was concerned about his happiness and her ability to provide that. As part of his courtship of her, he needed to provide her with evidence that _she_ is the key to his happiness.

Step 3: COA (Course of Action) Development. In this phase, he'd need to work out the specific steps to achieve his goal using the results from the mission analysis. In general terms, Booth knew that his course of action was to woo Brennan, to court her, and seduce her, heart and soul. But, he also knew it was going to take more than roses and a charm smile alone. He needed to find unique ways to appeal to that great big beautiful brain of hers.

Step 4: Execution. Fairly self-explanatory. This is when he'd get to put his plan into action. Where he would put into motion the course of action he developed in response to the challenges identified as part of the mission analysis. He was looking forward to this phase of the plan most.

As Booth sat down at his kitchen table with a small pile of index cards and a fresh beer to start formalizing the specifics of his plan, the thought upper most in his mind was simply _'Ready or not Bones, here I come.'_

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><p><strong>AN:** _OK. I admit it. I more or less copped out on writing a big Booth/Hannah talk (sorry Cheryl), but my muse couldn't think of much interesting to say beyond "Hit the road, bitch" which, while gratifying, would've made for a very very short chapter. Hope I'm forgiven and what I provided was a satisfactory alternative (albeit still a bit short). I'll try to make up for that with the next one._

_The Military Decision Making Process is a real thing, but I took some liberties with the specifics of the process in order to make it work with my storyline here. Call it artistic license if you will. _

_Next chapter (Tuesday?) we'll get to see what Brennan thinks of things as she's been rather quiet lately._


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** _Wow. I can't believe I've made it to Chapter 8. This story is already longer than I had anticipated at the outset and seems to have somewhat taken on a life of its own. Hope you're still having as much fun as I am with it. As always, thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows._

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p><em>SB: What's the most musical bone in the body?<em>

Brennan, who happened to be standing in Angela's office looking at a facial reconstruction from one of their limbo cases, looked bewilderedly at the text she'd just received from Booth, brows furrowed, and tried to figure out just what the hell he was talking about. Sometimes she found her partner to be quite befuddling.

_TB: I don't know what that means._

_SB: A trom-bone! Ha ha. Get it?_

She couldn't help but emit a little snort of laughter when she saw his response.

Angela looked over at her friend and saw the smile teasing the corners of her mouth "Something good Sweetie?"

"Just Booth being Booth-y." And Angela figured that pretty much explained the slightly smitten look on her friend's face. "He made a joke. What's that thing you type in a text when someone conveys something humorous?"

"LOL?" and knowing Brennan would ask "it means they made you Laugh Out Loud."

"Right. That's it."

_TB: LOL. Sounds like you've been talking to Parker._

_SB: Just hoping to make you smile. Diner for lunch?_

_TB: Sure. Meet you in 30 minutes._

Angela, unconsciously rubbing her gently swelling belly, watched the way Brennan's expression reflected a muted pleasure as she texted back and forth with her partner. "Was it a dirty joke?" she asked with a salacious grin.

"What? Oh. No. It was silly really. Booth's been dropping puerile jokes into our discussions the last few days. Probably Parker's influence."

"Oh yeah? Give me an example"

She repeated the trombone joke to Angela. Perceiving that the joke amused Angela, she decided to share another. "Here's another one he mentioned to me a few days ago. Why is it hard to fool a snake?"

Angela just shook her head "I haven't a clue."

"Because you can't pull their leg." Brennan chuckled. "It's funny because snakes don't have any legs so the colloquialism _to pull someone's leg_ as a phrase to indicate you're fooling them literally does not apply."

"Thanks Sweetie. I get it."

"You know, you're going to have to learn some jokes that aren't imbued with sexual innuendo to share with your future progeny Ange. Booth appears to have a fairly extensive repertoire if you need some suggestions."

Seeing Brennan's earnest concern as she gazed towards her swollen abdomen, Angela couldn't help but feel warmed by her friends comment. It was the little moments like these, when Brennan would make some innocuous statement in complete sincerity about something as asinine as kid's jokes, that revealed her compassionate nature and reminded Angela why she loved Brennan so much. "I imagine Booth knows some good jokes which are loaded with sexual innuendo as well. You should ask him to share some of those with you. Maybe ask him for a hands-on demonstration too, depending on the joke" she teased."However, you are undoubtedly correct about my needing to pick up some more innocent ones. This child is half-Hodgins so retaining my sense of humor in the future is probably going to fall into the category of one of the essential survival skills of motherhood."

Brennan smiled, satisfied that she'd been able to proffer some useful advice. "This facial reconstruction is very good, as always Angela, but I think you've portrayed the anterior portion of the mandible a little too prominently here. Try to soften that up a bit and increase the tissue depth slightly beneath the zygomatic bones" she instructed, pointing towards the cheek bones. "I'm going to go meet Booth for lunch."

_Hmmm. Meeting Booth for lunch when we don't have an active case? That's interesting and something we've not seen in a long while_, thought Angela as she watched Brennan head for her office to replace her lab coat with a trench coat.

* * *

><p>It was a clear, crisp day with a hint of the impending spring weather in the air and Brennan decided to walk to the diner from the Jeffersonian. She'd probably arrive a few minutes after Booth, but he doesn't usually mind about that. She'd rather not reach the diner first in any event as she didn't want to appear overeager to see Booth. The walk was simple enough that she could take advantage of this time to organize her thoughts and reign in any wayward fantasies about her colleague that she shouldn't be entertaining anyway.<p>

She had to constantly remind herself that even though Booth and Hannah were no longer dating, nothing had really changed about her relationship with Booth so there was no rational reason for her to look forward to seeing him again with such avidity. They were still just partners. And friends. Admittedly, they'd gone out for dinner or drinks several times since Hannah moved out a few weeks ago. And, last weekend Booth invited her to hang out with him and Parker for movie night, which she'd enjoyed immensely. In many ways, it was achingly reminiscent of how things used to be between them – before Hannah . . . before Afghanistan and the Malukus . . . before that disastrous night outside the Hoover Building following their review of Sweet's book. Only now, she found the time they spent together socially even more bittersweet as she was acutely aware of the opportunity she'd forsaken.

Hannah.

She'd completely knocked Brennan off balance when she appeared on the scene, and, just when she was starting to get her equilibrium back, reconciling herself to a life where Hannah was Booth's first priority, Hannah's departure had unbalanced her again.

She recalled her conversation with Booth when he informed her of his break-up.

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><p><em>FLASHBACK<em>

Brennan and Booth had driven out to Fort Meade to interview an Army Captain stationed there who had been roommates with the victim of their current case a while back in the hopes he could provide some insight regarding their victim's social life and hobbies. It was early evening when they headed back towards downtown DC and Booth proposed they stop for a quick dinner while the final vestiges of the evening rush hour traffic waned.

"Hey Bones. There's a decent family-owned bar and grille just a mile or so off the interstate at the next exit that I've eaten at before. What do you say we stop and grab some dinner while the traffic dies down?"

"OK. Sure. I've got time for that. But, won't Hannah be expecting you home soon? Shouldn't you at least check with her to make sure she's not made any special dinner plans for the two of you?"

Booth had fidgeted briefly in his seat before reaching up and smoothing his tie down his chest. "That won't be necessary Bones. Hannah and I have decided to go our separate ways" he confessed.

Brennan's eyebrows had shot up in surprise. "You broke up?"

Booth simply nodded his head. "Yeah. Sunday night."

Instinctively, she had reached over and gently placed her hand on his forearm, wanting to offer some sort of comfort and consolation. "I'm sorry Booth. I know you were wanting to build a life with her. She's a fool to walk away and not appreciate what a good man you are."

Her words were heartfelt and sincere, but she'd uttered them almost on autopilot. Her mind was completely stunned by Booth's news and she had felt disoriented, as though the parameters of her personal reality had suddenly and drastically been altered along with his. Which was nonsense, of course. Hannah hadn't left _her_.

"Well, actually Bones, Hannah didn't exactly walk out on me. I'm the, uh, the one who more or less decided that what she and I had going wasn't working out and I suggested we end our relationship."

"What? That doesn't seem right, Booth. It's not like you to back pedal like that. Did she do something to offend you somehow?" One of the aspects of Booth that Brennan admired and respected most was his steadfastness. In certain facets, he was extremely constant and predictable and she drew comfort from that. His faith in his God, his love of his country, and his devotion to family. Booth was not a balker. It made no sense that he'd walk away without some sort of provocation.

Booth had glanced away from his driving long enough to look at her and let her read the expression on his face. He looked serious, like he was concentrating thoughtfully, but he didn't look angry or sorrowful.

"Have you ever been standing around outside somewhere Bones, maybe on a dig or at a crime scene, and the air is cold but you didn't put on a jacket so you can feel the chill all the way to your core? Then, someone comes over and gives you a nice fluffy jacket, or a blanket, or something like that and you immediately feel warmer and you think 'hey, this jacket is great'?"

"Yeees" she responded slowly, not sure where he was going with this or why the topic had suddenly transitioned to the weather.

"But after a while, if you keep standing around in the cold, the initial benefit of the jacket wears off and you start to feel the cold deep in your chest again, right? Well, Hannah was kind of like that jacket for me. When I was serving in Afghanistan, I was cut off from all my family and friends and I felt alone. Hannah came along and she was someone to talk to and to hang out with and she made me feel special, like I wasn't all alone. She provided me with some comfort that I needed at the time and I mistook that comfort for love. The thing is Bones, that feeling, that warm, encompassing sense of comfort, it never reached into our cores with Hannah and me. It was only on the surface. Since we've been back stateside, I've been stubbornly trying to convince myself and everyone else that what we had was real and I refused to acknowledge that a part of me still felt cold, alone, and empty at heart. I guess what it boils down to is that I believe there is someone out there for everyone, someone they're meant to be with, and Hannah just wasn't it for me."

Brennan wasn't sure what emotion she was feeling . . . Sorrow? Joy? Hope? Fear? Confusion? They all seemed to be bombarding her senses simultaneously and she knew she'd have to wait until later, when she could have some quiet time alone, to be able to process what Booth had disclosed and why she felt so affected by it. Could this mean that she hadn't completely missed her chance after all? She'd have to give Booth sufficient time to recover from his affair with Hannah before pursuing the answer to that question though.

She nodded her head towards him with a thoughtful twist to her lips. "I think I understand Booth." Then, figuring Booth would probably appreciate a respite from such a heavy and personal topic, she shifted the conversation to a less sentimental matter. "You know, if you're going to be standing around outside in the cold for any length of time, you should really wear a hat in addition to a jacket, preferably one that covers your ears too."

"What? I'd look like a stooge and it would mess up my hair."

"I'm just saying."

_END FLASHBACK_

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><p>Brennan was just across the street from the diner now and she could see Booth sitting at their usual table through the window. Doing her best to ignore the flutter in her chest at the site of him, she crossed the street and went inside.<p>

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><p><strong>AN:** _How's that? Busy week this week at work, so it'll be Thursday or Friday before the next update. Promise to not leave you hanging too long._


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** _Rough week – I missed my self-imposed posting deadline. _:-( _But alas, here's the next installment with a little more B&B fluff for you. Hope you enjoy it!_

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p>Booth sensed the moment that Brennan entered the diner and looked up to watch her approach the table, <em>their<em> table, where he sat waiting. Not for the first time since they'd become partners, he found himself mesmerized by her comely visage. Her auburn locks, usually so neatly groomed or pulled into a tight coil at the back of her head, floated around her face in a gentle wind-tossed disarray. Her cheeks sported a faint rosy hue from the exertion of her walk from the Jeffersonian in the cool outdoors presenting an impression of lush vitality. And, her eyes. Those piercing blue-grey eyes that had the ability to either bewitch and enthrall him when she was happy or scorch and flay him when she was irate were currently sparkling with delight evoking a reciprocal response from him.

"Heya Bones!" he greeted her with jovial grin, aware of his mood elevating simply from her presence.

"Hello Booth. I hope you haven't been waiting over long" she remarked as she loosened the belt of her trench coat so she could remove it and lay it over the back of the adjacent unoccupied seat at the table.

"Nah. I was just catching up on some of the hockey scores from last night" he said, waving his smart phone up for her to see as she pulled out her chair and sat down.

Unknown to her, Booth considered this lunch one of what he termed his _quasi-dates_ in accordance with his strategic plan for courting her. His objective: Get her out of the lab and into a variety of social settings where they can spend some one-on-one time together talking about things other than death or murder and simply share their time mutually. Other quasi-dates he'd arranged so far included movie night with Parker; dragging her with him when he went grocery shopping a week or so ago; and tagging along with her recently when she went to a lecture on _The Ancient Weapons of Africa_, which he'd actually found surprisingly fascinating. He wanted her to be comfortable spending time with him doing the little things together that couples do when they're sharing a life without the pressure or distraction of the sexual aspects of a relationship. He fully expected that when (not 'if' . . . think positive) they introduced sex into the equation, it would be very distracting (and amazing; and crazy; and mind-blowing; and spectacular; and . . . ahhhh, can't wait!) so getting her comfortable with the reality of them just _being together_ first seemed like a prudent route to take. When he feels she's ready to move to the level of real dates, he figures he'll be able to point back on their quasi-dates as evidence of their compatibility. Bones pays attention to the evidence.

He watched her glance over the bright yellow flyer for the daily lunch specials before they placed their orders with the waitress. "So Bones, what are you working on right now while we're between cases?"

"Mostly, I've been whittling away at the seemingly never-ending backlog of historic remains we have stored in the Jeffersonian's basement. I'm also collaborating with a fairly young professor from Purdue University on an article for the _American Journal of Physical Anthropology_. He's requested my assistance in validating some of his research which I've found to be quite intriguing. How about you?"

Booth shrugged sheepishly. "Oh, you know. The usual. It's the government so I've always got a mound of paperwork to catch up on. There are always cases that the other agents under my supervision are working on that require some oversight as well. We've a couple young agents that just signed on a few weeks ago that I've been doing some training exercises with too." He shook his head in disbelief and rolled his eyes. "I tell you what Bones, I just don't remember being quite as reckless or clueless when I first started out as some of these young bucks we get coming in seem to be. It's mind boggling how true that old adage _Common sense is not so common_ can be."

Brennan smiled. She could relate to how he was feeling. "Yes. That quotation is credited to Voltaire, from the mid 1700's. While generally speaking, I have been very fortunate regarding the caliber of students I've worked with since only the brightest even make it through the doors of the Jeffersonian, I've certainly experienced a few instances where I questioned how the interns I was assigned to work with had even graduated from high school let alone made it into a highly regarded collegiate graduate program. It can be quite maddening working with people who can't even meet a reasonable baseline level of expectations."

The waitress set their respective lunches in front of them and topped off their coffee cups. _Four . . . Three . . . Two . . . One . . ._ Brennan's hand reached out and absconded with a French fry off of Booth's plate and he reveled in the familiarity of her action. It was _theirs_, something she (and only she) did with him (and only him). She'd not touched his fries hardly at all when he'd been dating Hannah which made her action now seem like a particularly intimate gesture and indicative of the re-establishment of their former camaraderie.

"So Bones, what's going on these days with your Kathy Reichs novels? Aren't you supposed to have one getting released pretty soon?"

Brennan sighed heavily and frowned, scrunching her eyebrows together. "Yes. In about 3 weeks."

Puzzled, he asked "Then why do you seem so forlorn? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yes . . . No . . . . I don't know." She stammered miserably in confusion, twisting her napkin in between her fingers anxiously. She should probably prepare him a bit. He was bound to read it once it was released. He'd read all her prior books. "This one . . . well, it's a little, uh . . . I guess you might say a little different than some of my previous novels."

Booth raised his eyebrows at how uneasy she looked and sounded. "How so?"

She hesitated for a moment, biting her lower lip while she thought about how best to respond. "While the novel is still based on authentic scientific practices and follows a rationale in keeping with my former endeavors, it's also significantly more . . . _emotional_ than what I have produced in the past."

Booth couldn't help but bust out laughing. She looked so chagrinned and she muttered the word '_emotional'_ with utter distaste and disdain, like it ranked with the seven deadly sins.

She rolled her eyes in pique. "Don't laugh. It's not funny" she whined.

God, he found her adorable. He couldn't subdue his ear-to-ear grin. "Your publisher let you get away with that, eh Bones? She didn't hand it back to you and suggest you submit it to Harlequin Romance instead?"

He'd managed to tease at least a small reluctant smile out of her as she grumbled "It's not _that_ bad. And, no. My publisher actually loved it. She predicts this could be my most successful effort yet and she has a considerable abundance of grandiose ideas regarding how to market it and what she wants me to do to help."

Other than some relatively minor editing tweaks, this book had been entirely written during the evenings as she sat on her cot in her tent in the Maluku Islands. She'd had limited access to the internet or her vast personal library of resources and reference material so:

(a) She'd had plenty of time to write at night with little else to entertain or distract her;

(b) She'd been unable to perform much new research and so the science-y parts were a little more simplistic than her usual _modus operandi_ as she'd had to stay within the bounds of what she could confidently recall from memory; and,

(c) She had come to terms with the fact that she was completely and irrevocably in love with Booth and wanted to express it somehow while she was there. She had _needed_ an outlet for the unfamiliar sentiments. Since she couldn't share that news with him at the time and had had no inclination to share it with Ms. Wick or any of the other scientists at the site, she'd poured a lot of her feelings into her story, using Kathy and Andy to help her reconcile what she thought truly being _in love_ meant. Kathy and Andy had been involved sexually with each other since her first novel. Their relationship had started out with a lot of chemistry and tension, but had been primarily physical in the beginning. Over the years, as her characters evolved, their sexual chemistry had been strengthened by a warm regard, or fondness, for each other. But this novel? This novel was more about LOVE. She'd pushed and prodded her characters and put them in untenable situations where 'a warm regard' went out the window and they'd expressed deep and abiding love, in both their words and deeds. Their commitment to each other had been tested, their happiness in each other proven, and their physical expression of their emotions (i.e. – the sex) taken to a new level.

She'd still deny that Kathy and Andy were intended to represent her and Booth, per se, but she had to acknowledge that writing the story of Kathy and Andy had always provided her with a technique for coping with her feelings and, if she was being totally honest, her desires where Booth and others were concerned. Sometimes she wrote what she secretly wanted instead of what was. Other times she wrote situations she never hoped to experience to help her address her fears.

Several of her friends and colleagues had previously remarked to her that her writing revealed more about her personal thoughts and wishes than she would admit to, and, assuming that's true, then in about 3 weeks her heart is going to metaphorically be on display for all the world to see.

And her publisher wanted to hire a figurative marching band to symbolically bang the drums and make sure everyone took a look.

She was not relishing that prospect. Not at all. Her stomach clenched.

She'd wanted to scrap the whole book when she got back from the Maluku's, but since it was already in her publisher's hands by then and her publisher was already raving about it, there'd been no chance of reigning it back in.

"Your publisher is just being a good agent on your behalf, Bones." Booth tried to remind her. "The things she suggests or recommends that you do are just proposed with the intent of making your book more successful which, in turn, will earn _you_ more money."

"I don't _need_ more money, Booth. Between my regular job, being commissioned for various guest appearances, royalties from previous novels or movies they're planning to make, and my current assortment of investments, I already make way more money than I could ever spend" she huffed in displeasure. "All the commercialism and strategizing just to make another damn dollar simply makes me sick."

"Huh. Well, do you know what you do with a chemist when they get sick?"

"What are you talking about?" She frowned at him.

"They say if you can't **helium**, and you can't **curium**, then you might as well **barium**."

Booth beamed at her, so proud of himself for working in another of his little jokes and managing to lighten the mood again. All part of the master plan to seduce her intellectually. He couldn't hope to impress her with a demonstration of his vast knowledge as there was no way he'd ever know even a tenth of the random crap she had stored in her magnificent mind. But, if he could appeal to the under developed parts of that big beautiful brain of hers, the untapped childish side he knew was hidden in there and that she secretly enjoyed letting out, it would help equalize their phrenic differences and balance out her scholarly superiority.

Brennan felt all the tension and anxiety that had been building up the last several minutes while thinking and talking about her upcoming book release simply dissipate as she gently shook her head and affectionately rolled her eyes at him. "God, you are such a goof and for some wholly unfathomable reason, I find you utterly charming."

Their eyes locked.

And held.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats.

Neither speaking a word as they silently absorbed the implications associated with her admitting she found him charming. _It's going to hurt so bad when he finds someone new again and no longer has time for me._ The unwelcome thought leapt into her mind, bringing with it the immediate sting of tears in her eyes. She quickly averted face, blinking rapidly, pressing her lips together tightly and turning to look out the window while she tried to hold back the weight of her anguish and re-establish her composure.

A part of Brennan, the irrational, uncontrollable and yet, undeniably feminine part, couldn't help but nurture the hope that once Booth was truly over Hannah and ready to pursue a new relationship of a romantic nature, that he'd consider her again. But the rational, scientist part which had heard him say he planned to move on, had seen how easily he'd found another object for his affections, had listened time and again over the last year as he'd emphatically and in no uncertain terms told Sweets that he was over whatever he'd felt for her and it was in the past . . . that part realized there was very little likelihood that he'd ever consider her more than his partner and good friend again. That part was certain that asking him for more than he was prepared to share would just result in his withdrawal, like the last year. That part understood that from the moment he'd spoken the words that he wanted to give them a chance, her defenses around her heart had crumbled and she was completely at his mercy. She wasn't sure she had the strength or fortitude to just sit back though and watch him romance another woman, or women, again.

Booth had noticed the sudden shift in his partner's demeanor. Damn. Things had been going so well. He needed to know what went wrong but quickly replaying the last couple minutes, he was coming up blank. The left only one way to figure it out.

"Bones?" he questioned tentatively. "What's the matter Baby?"

He watched her swallow then take a breath. "I'm fine Booth."

"No Bones. No. I'm not buying that. I know you and something just upset you. C'mon. Tell me what it was so I can help make it better for you" he persuaded, giving her his charm smile and a friendly nudge on her shoulder. "I'm your partner, remember? You can trust me."

"Just an unpleasant thought" she said, turning back to look at him, her lips still compressed together. "It was nothing worth mentioning."

"Booones" he cajoled, giving her a stern look like he might direct towards Parker when he thought Parker was trying to pull a fast one on him.

"Forget it Booth."

Booth sat back in his chair and studied her in silence for a moment as she finished her salad. Quid pro quo. Give something to get something, he thought.

Time to up the ante.

He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

"You know what would make me react like that Bones?" He asked earnestly. He waited until she looked over at him and he was certain he had her attention. "The thought of something happening to take you away from me."

He looked directly at her. Seriously. Intently. Trying with his eyes to convey the honesty and sincere depth of emotion behind the words he'd just spoken.

Astonished, Brennan looked at him with bewilderment. "What? How did you know that's what I . . . ?"

They continued to gaze into each other's eyes, both understanding by what had been said and what hadn't that they had each just admitted the other was someone important to them.

"I'm not going anywhere Bones." Booth promised with conviction. "You're stuck with me for a long, long time to come."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _Did you enjoy? Am I forgiven for being late? I promise, no more bad jokes._

_Sooooo, as long as you're still here, I have a little secret to confess. I like smut. (Insert blush here) I started reading FF for the smut we'll never see since Bones is on FOX and not HBO. I know not everyone else feels the same, so as I look to winding this story down, I'm grappling with whether to wrap it up sweetly with a shiny ribbon, or turn up the heat a bit on my versions of B&B before I say farewell to them. Any preferences?_

_Next chapter will be in a couple days. The framework is already there, I just need to flush out the details depending on which of the paths above I decide to take._


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **_Good news/bad news – you decide. I was a little slow getting this chapter posted because I was trying to fit a lot into it. I finally decided to break it into 2 chapters though, so you get this one now, and should get the next one Friday (as it's close to complete)._

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p>"OK, Sweetie . . ." Angela began as she strode purposefully through Brennan's office door and came to a stop in front of her desk. " . . I don't know what the hell put a bee in your bonnet today, but you have been acting like a first class bitch and it's got to stop. You have been moody, short tempered and dissatisfied with everyone around you all day. So. Tell me. What's wrong?"<p>

Brennan scowled and glared at Angela, who simply glared back, nonplussed, one eyebrow cocked higher than the other, arms crossed, and tapping her toe. Brennan's first impulse was to tell Angela to mind her own business and go away. But, she conceded to herself, Angela was basically right. She had been a moody bitch all day and about an hour ago she'd completely overreacted to a minor faux paus by one of the other scientists and verbally flayed him. She assumed that was the event that finally sent Angela in here to soothe the proverbial dragon. Maybe talking would make her feel better.

Angela knew she was right on the money that something in particular was bothering her friend when Brennan's posture relaxed from her initial defensive position to a more resigned and relaxed pose. Brennan closed her eyes and leaned her head back against her chair. "It's just . . . I find I am very stressed at the moment Ange. I know I was out of line with my comments to Dr. Randolph earlier and I'll apologize to him."

"Hmmm. That'd be a good start Bren, but this is more than just simple stress. I've seen you juggle the demands of 10 normal people and not let it get to you like this and we don't have anything major going on around here right now anyway. There is something specific that you are fixating on that's bothering you and you and I both know you'll feel better after talking it over with me. So, spill it Sister."

Why fight the inevitable? Pretty soon, everyone would know. "It's my book" she responded tiredly.

"Your book?" Angela was surprised by that answer. In the past, Brennan had reacted to the pomp and circumstance surrounding her books with remarked disinterest and an almost comical obliviousness to what anyone else would have embraced as a major achievement. "What, exactly, about your book has you storming around here acting like the Wicked Witch of the West?"

"It gets released Friday."

"So?"

"Today's Monday."

"So? she say's again as though her best friend wasn't giving her total crap for answers. If you're worried no one will buy it, I promise you'll sell at least one copy to me."

Brennan smiled at her friend fondly. Angela was always there, offering her support in her own unique way. "No need Ange. I have a whole box of freebies that just got delivered to my home yesterday which I can distribute as I see fit, although I'm supposed to wait until after they're released on Friday. Here, I'll give you a copy. I brought one with me" she said, reaching over for her messenger bag that sat on the floor by her feet and extracting a brand new, fresh off the presses, first edition copy of her new novel and offering it over to Angela. "Just don't let anyone know you got it early."

It was the arrival of the books on her doorstep yesterday that had prompted her disagreeable mood. In her mind, she'd known the publication date was imminent, but the appearance of the box of books had progressed the book release from some hypothetical future scenario to a more immediate, this is really happening, actuality that she knew she'd have to confront and deal with. To put it mildly, she was freaking out over the prospect.

This was the first book Brennan had written that Angela hadn't read while it was in the draft stages. No, this one was all Temperance Brennan and that terrified her too. While she hadn't consciously recognized it at the time, sharing her stories with Angela, even before she shared them with her publisher, had provided her with a certain sense of security and confidence in what she wrote. She trusted Angela and knew Angela wouldn't let her produce or publish something that wasn't true to Brennan's belief system, at least, not without grilling her about it first. Brennan realized that she had missed Angela's insights and she felt vulnerable about how the people she was acquainted with were going to respond to this latest effort.

Moving to the same side of the desk as Brennan and propping her hip on the edge as she admired the cover of her new book, Angela implored her friend again. "Why are you worried about this book? You know it'll do great."

Brennan snorted. "That's what has me worried." At Angela's look of puzzlement, she just responded "Read it. Just . . . read it, then let me know what you think. In the meantime, I'll try to tone down my grouchy attitude."

* * *

><p>It had taken Angela two days to finish the book. Monday night, she'd only managed the first couple chapters before pregnancy exhaustion had overwhelmed her and she'd fallen asleep with the book open on her lap. Tuesday night, she'd gotten completely sucked in to the riveting story and hadn't been able to put the book down until it was done, well after midnight. Which is why Wednesday morning, she slept in and didn't get to work until shortly before lunchtime, at which time she promptly strode in to her best friend's office once again.<p>

Angela thought she finally understood. She knew enough about Brennan and what kinds of thoughts Brennan had been entertaining in her mind at the time she was writing the story to piece together the general picture of what this book meant to Brennan and why she was feeling so anxious. Angela wanted to hear it from Brennan though, in Brennan's words.

"Hey Sweetie. Hope you don't mind if I interrupt, because I am. I finished reading your book and you did an amazing job with this one. I've no doubt it will be going straight to the top of the best-sellers list in no time. Now, how about you finish telling me why releasing this book has you so worked up?"

Brennan looked up at her friend, taking a moment to transition her thoughts from the paperwork she'd been focused on to the topic Angela wanted to discuss. "It's extremely personal Ange. It's . . . revealing." She swallowed nervously. "A lot of people are going to read this book and make some judgments or assumptions about me that I'm not sure how to respond to."

"This book . . . and your concerns . . . this is about Booth, isn't it?" Brennan didn't respond. She just stared back at Angela with a heartbreakingly lost and confused look that made Angela want to just wrap her in a hug.

"Does he know?"

"Sort of. Not really. I told him it was different from my other stories but there's no way to really explain how until he reads it himself."

"You love him, don't you Sweetie?"

"Yes. I believe so." Sadly, Angela thought Brennan sounded more dejected than excited at finally making that admission.

Angela wasn't sure how Booth would react after reading the book. Anyone who knew Booth and Brennan, knew anything about their relationship, and suspected that Brennan used Kathy and Andy as surrogates for her and Booth would interpret this novel as a declaration of love from Brennan to Booth. For the last several weeks, Angela had noticed Booth's solicitous behavior towards Brennan and thought he was acting as though he was trying to win her favor. She'd actually been considering cornering him and asking him what his intentions were because if he wasn't finally getting his act together and trying to start something meaningful with Brennan, then he was just setting her up for a major heartbreak, and Angela couldn't sit by and just watch that happen. Although, she may be too late now. Thank God Hannah was out of the picture or this would've been a real disaster in the making.

"My advice, Sweetie? Talk to him again _before_ the book comes out and make sure he understands what to expect. Don't let him be blind-sided by someone else who reads it before he does and then teases him about it. It'll make you feel better, which in turn will make all of the rest of us feel better too" she teased.

Brennan nodded her head. She knew Angela was right.

And that is how she came to be sitting in her car, outside Booth's apartment later that evening. She'd been sitting there for at least 15 minutes, trying to get up her nerve to go knock on his door. She was fairly certain he was home as she could see the lights on in his apartment from the street, so she had no good excuse not to follow through on Angela's advice and go see him. Finally, she got out of her car and started up his stairs. _C'mon Tempe. Don't be such a hen. You've faced much scarier things than Booth before._

When Booth opened his door, he was obviously surprised to see her. She couldn't resist giving him a quick head-to-toe once over and ruefully acknowledging the sudden surge of dopamine and serotonin in her system. He was dressed comfortably in a pair of white athletic socks, sweat pants, and a form fitting T-shirt which accentuated the breadth of his shoulders and the musculature of his upper body. He'd obviously showered recently as his hair was still damp, minus its usual styling gel, and she could smell the tang of his body soap mixed in with his natural scent. She wanted to just step forward and tuck her nose into the hollow where his neck met his shoulders and nuzzle him, but, she didn't. She couldn't. It wasn't who they were.

"Bones," he smiled genuinely. "Come on in. What brings you over? Can I get you a drink?" and he started walking towards the kitchen, leaving her to follow.

"No. No, thanks Booth. I'm not planning to stay long."

Booth had been so pleasantly surprised to see her that he hadn't really taken the time to study her body language when he first let her in, but now that he took a few seconds to do so, he could tell she seemed anxious. "Oh. Everything OK there Bones?"

"Yes. I . . . I just wanted to give you this." She extended her arm holding out to him the copy of her newest novel that she had been clutching tightly to her chest. "It's my latest book. The one that'll be out in a couple days."

"Wow. Thanks Bones. That's uh, that's sweet of you. Usually you make me wait until it's in the stores, like everyone else."

"Yes. I know. Officially, I'm not supposed to start handing out copies until the book is formally released, but I gave a copy to Angela a couple days ago and she suggested I go ahead and give you your copy now too." She paused to take a breath before making eye contact. "I hope you'll read it and I hope you'll enjoy it Booth." _You have no idea how much I hope you'll like it_.

Booth looked down at the book in his hands then up at his partner's apprehensive face. "Bones, I've read all your books and I've enjoyed every one of them. I'm sure I'll like this one too. Thank you."

"OK then. That's all. Good night." Brennan abruptly turned and headed for the front door.

"Wait." Booth hollered as he chased after her. "Are you sure you don't want to stick around for a bit? Maybe have a drink and watch a little TV?"

Brennan turned at the door and looked back at his hopeful expression. Part of her wanted very much to stay and spend some time with him as he suggested, not sure whether this might be one of her last opportunities to do so. She didn't expect Booth to be angry or upset once her feelings for him were in the open, but she was concerned he might feel it necessary to distance himself from her in order to keep their relationship on just a professional level. She was tired of hiding and tired of pretending and in some respects, she was glad the six year farce would be coming to an end. Her biggest fear was that he would forego spending time with her outside work and limit their interactions to impersonal topics and situations for the sake of maintaining their professional relationship while deliberately keeping his distance so as not to give her false hope for anything more personal.

"Not tonight Booth." She smiled softly "But next time you ask, I'll be ready." As she closed the door behind her, Booth tried to decide whether or not her words held a double meaning.

Booth walked back into his kitchen and saw her novel sitting on his counter. He had to admit, he was curious as to why she was in such a tizzy over this book. He poured himself a scotch and decided to read a couple chapters. There was nothing terribly exciting on TV tonight anyway.

As he settled into his recliner and opened up his book, his eyes were drawn immediately to the dedication before the first chapter. _This book is dedicated to Seeley J. Booth, my partner and so much more. You're the standard for me_. Underneath that, she'd signed the book with a short personal message that read "Seeley, I meant every word I wrote. – Temperance."

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><p><strong>AN:** _As always, comments are welcome. Til next time ..._


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **_So, in deference to those who prefer K-T stories and have been with me from the beginning and because it seemed more consistent with the tone of this story to date, I kept this T-rated. I'll keep people comments in mind for future stories._

_This is the final chapter of this little fable, but it's longer than my typical ones. So - Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong> I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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><p>7:49 AM.<p>

Brennan noted the time yet again as she replaced the last of the bones for the skeleton she'd been examining back in the designated storage bin.

She could already tell today was going to be a very long day.

It had been a little less than 12 hours since she'd left Booth's apartment last night.

She'd woken up this morning at 4:32 AM. Anxiety and worry about what was going to happen in the next few days between her and Booth making it difficult for her to sleep restfully, bringing back some of the nightmares that typically make their appearance when she is overwrought. As she lay in bed trying to get a little more rest, she couldn't help but wonder what Booth's response would be when he finished reading the book she'd left with him the night before. She wasn't sure how long it would take for him to read it. At least a few days she conjectured. Probably until Monday at least. She'd never known Booth to be much of a dedicated reader. What if it takes him a couple weeks? What if he waits for a while and doesn't start reading it right away? What if he finishes it and says nothing? What if he reads it and doesn't pick up on the significance of what she wrote? Would things between them keep going on the same as always? Could _she_ continue that way?

By 4:52, she gave up the hope of getting any more rest, the questions circling around her head just adding to her apprehension, and she got up to shower. By 5:21, she was showered, dressed, and had applied the minimal amount of make-up that she typically wore to work. By 5:28, her travel mug was filled with fresh coffee, her messenger bag packed, and she headed out the door towards the Jeffersonian, hoping that she could find some distraction at the lab and lose herself for a while in her work.

By 5:53, she was at her desk in her office. By 5:58, she had scanned through the emails waiting in her Inbox and realized she didn't have the focus to deal with any of them right now. By 6:03, she was down in "limbo" and had selected a set of remains to examine. She started rearticulating the skeleton on the exam table and for the next 1 hour and 46 minutes, found herself glancing at the clock every 3-5 minutes.

It was torture, just watching the hands on the clock slowly creep forward, waiting for something to happen and knowing it might not occur anytime soon. Probably not for days yet. She appreciated the irony of spending her morning in the part of the lab referred to as "limbo" as she felt as though she herself were in a state of suspension, put on hold until some uncertain catalyst would happen along and propel her into motion again.

Now, it was almost 8:00. Angela and Hodgins should be here soon, if not already, and she decided to head back upstairs hoping Angela could provide her a better distraction than the bones had afforded so far.

She stopped off at her office to quickly scan through any new emails for anything urgent and to grab her coffee mug. Not seeing any emergencies, she figured she'd wander up to the lounge and freshen her coffee cup before seeking out Angela.

7:57 AM.

That's when her plans got derailed.

Booth charged into her office. She looked up at him from where she was standing in front of her desk, startled to see him.

"Booth? Is everything OK?" She furrowed her brows at him. "You look awful."

Well, awful for Booth, which meant he still looked better to her than 99.7% of the other men out there look on a good day.

He appeared to be in the same clothes she'd seen him in last night with the exception being he had traded his comfy sweatpants for a pair of worn looking jeans – jeans which seemed to fit him just right in all the right places to stir up her libido. He still wore the same white athletic socks. His only other concession to footwear being a pair of blue-and-white Adidas slides. He still wore the same T-shirt which she had admired for showcasing his physique so well. His hair was still un-gelled and he hadn't bothered to shave, so his face was covered in a dark scruff. She could see dilated blood vessels on his sclera and mild edema beneath his eyes causing them to look slightly swollen and discolored.

The only other time Brennan could recall seeing him close to this unkempt was the day she returned from Guatemala, several weeks after his brain surgery, and she'd told him then that he looked like a mover. However, that assessment didn't mean she didn't find him incredibly alluring too.

"Yeah? Well, you look great Bones. Absolutely fantastic. I can't tell you how much or for how long I've been wanting to do this . . ." And with that, he stepped right up to her, chest-to-chest, and reached out, cupping her shoulders with the palms of his hands, then pulled her to him for a kiss. At first, Brennan froze, too stunned to respond, but she wasn't a genius for nothing. As soon as it registered that _Booth_ was kissing her, that it was _Booth's_ firm lips she felt gliding sensuously over hers, and _Booth's_ tongue she felt teasing the crease between her lips, she abandoned all semblance of resistance and returned his kiss with equal enthusiasm. Her arms wound their way around his waist and she clung to him tightly, pulling his body closer to hers and relishing the feel of him pressed all along her front. For several moments, they enjoyed the grappling of their lips as their tongues stroked and teased each other's before finally pulling their heads back to look at one another.

"Wow. Good morning to you too, Booth. That was unexpected. Not unwelcomed, but certainly unexpected." Brennan said with a smile, her voice a tad huskier than normal. She didn't understand why he'd kissed her or what it meant, but she wasn't going to complain, even if they were in her office. Not when she'd wanted it for so long. For now, she'd place her trust in Booth and follow his lead, assuming he would explain what was going on.

Booth didn't even try to hold back the grin splitting his face. "Yeah. I didn't exactly plan that. I just saw you, you know, standing there, looking gorgeous like always, and I couldn't resist anymore." Then, more softly, "I read your book Bones."

Brennan's eyebrows went up in surprise. "The whole thing? Already? That was fast. Much faster than I anticipated."

"Yeah. I was up all night. Just finished it a couple hours ago actually."

She reached up and ran a finger back-and-forth in a gentle caress along his zygomatic bone to where it met the maxilla bone, beneath his eye sockets. "I guess that explains the bloodshot eyes and the puffiness beneath them. I didn't mean for you to deprive yourself of sleep when I gave you the book, Booth."

"I know." He answered, leaning his head forward and resting his brow on hers. "But it's a good story Bones, and I was captivated. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down until the end."

In all honesty, Booth had been so engrossed with the storyline, that he hadn't even really thought about or paid much attention to the hidden message from her to him until he was done. He generally read for enjoyment, not to analyze a story. However, once he'd finished the novel and took a moment to reflect, he'd immediately recognized what she'd done . . . that, in a way, this book was a public declaration of her feelings towards him. He'd spent the next couple hours thinking about her story, what it meant (to her, to him, to them) and how that fit in with his overall plan of pursuit. He figured her somewhat public declaration could be construed as a green light for him to pick up the pace a little and it was time to let her know where he stood on the matter of "them."

By the time 7:30 rolled around, he'd just wanted to find her. He knew she was probably making herself crazy with worry and he wanted to see her, to reassure her. He'd been about to head to her apartment to try and corner her there, but figured by then, he'd have better luck finding her at the Jeffersonian.

"So . . ." she pursed her lips together and hesitantly questioned, ". . . what happens next?"

"Next? . . . Next I force you into your jacket and drag you out of this glass enclosed fish bowl so we can go somewhere more private to talk. You know. About us." Booth stepped away from her, but reached down and grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers, as he spoke and pulled her towards her coat rack.

"What? Right now?" She was flustered. "I can't just leave work when the day's barely even started Booth."

Ignoring her protests, he grabbed her jacket off the rack and started helping her into it. "Sure you can Bones. It's called a vacation day. Normal people do it all the time. Besides, are you really going to get anything of value accomplished here today before we talk about this?"

He had a good point there. Based on how the first few hours of her morning had gone, there was really very little reason for her to stick around as she wouldn't likely accomplish much of significance. "You make a valid argument, I suppose."

As Brennan finished buttoning her jacket, Booth grabbed her messenger bag, then he reclaimed her hand and dragged her out of her office. Surprisingly enough, a quick scan of the lab seemed to indicate that their little clandestine clinch in her office had passed unnoticed. As he pulled her towards the exit, he saw Cam coming down the stairs from the lounge, fresh cup of coffee in her hands.

"Cam." He called to get her attention. "Bones is with me."

Cam looked over at the couple noting with curiosity Booth's casual and disheveled appearance coupled with Brennan's slightly bewildered look and wondered exactly what was going on and whether or not she truly wanted the details. "Oh. Okay. Is it a new case? When do you expect you'll be back?"

Brennan cocked her head and looked at Booth questioningly. This was his show for now so she'd let him answer. Booth looked back at Brennan thoughtfully before responding in a low, throaty voice. "No. It's personal. She'll be back tomorrow." He paused, letting his eyes caress her body briefly. "Maybe not until Monday." Booth was delighted when he saw a slight blush stain Brennan's cheeks at his response assuming it meant she was having some carnal thoughts about how they might be spending their time, similar to him. He thought that was a good sign.

As they approached his SUV, Brennan asked "So. Where are we going?"

Booth stopped at looked at her blankly. He hadn't thought that far ahead. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but he'd been focused on finding her and getting her out of the lab so they could talk and hadn't really thought beyond those primary initiatives to decide where to actually go. "Uh, we could go to the reflecting pool, but it's a little too cool out today to be comfortable for long and I don't have a jacket. The diner?"

"I'm not really very hungry right now and it's a pretty public place." She responded. "How about we just go to your apartment? I imagine you'll want to clean up and change clothes before going most anywhere else anyway."

"Yeah. Sure. Sounds good."

Before getting into the SUV, he couldn't resist stealing another kiss. As she reached for the door, he slid one of his hands into the hair at the nape of her neck, cupping her head and pulled her lips to his again. She came willingly, opening to him as soon as their lips touched. They kept it brief, pulling apart shortly after they'd started. "Talk first?" she asked.

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>When they first arrived at Booth's apartment, they were a little awkward with each other, both realizing there was a lot to be said but neither sure of how or where to start. Brennan took a seat on Booth's sofa while he went to grab them a couple water bottles from the kitchen before joining her.<p>

Booth figured that since he'd essentially kidnapped her, dragging her out of the lab, it was probably up to him to get the conversation underway. "So, Bones. I think it's probably time that we talk about us again. As a potential couple I mean."

"Yes. I agree."

"Look, Bones. I'm just gonna come right out and say it. I'm crazy about you and . . . and I want to be with you as more than just partners. I believe my feelings are reciprocated so what do you say? Should we give this, _us_, a shot?"

Brennan wanted to just say _yes_ and move forward, but she didn't want to commence a relationship with Booth with doubts and questions still left unanswered. She was thrilled that he was interested in becoming more intimately involved. She had hoped for this and fantasized about it, but never really expected it to happen and now that the moment was here, she found she needed some clarification from him before moving forward.

"Booth. You once told me that when two people were in a relationship, they left marks on each other. When the relationship ended, common decency meant those marks should be allowed time to fade away naturally before a new relationship is started. I would like very much to _give us a shot_ as you say, but first, I want to be sure that the marks Hannah left on you have had ample time to fade and I don't know how long that should take. I know it's been a couple months now since she left, but you claimed you loved her. Are you sure you've allowed yourself the proper time to grieve and get over her? I don't wish to simply be a consolation prize."

Booth scooted closer to Brennan on the sofa until their knees were touching, then reached out and grabbed both her hands in his, giving them a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Hannah was obviously still a specter between them and he needed to try and eradicate her, once and for all.

"After that night a little over a year ago when I first asked you to take a chance on us and you said no, I felt . . . adrift. I thought the woman I loved, had loved for a long time, didn't love me. In hindsight, maybe I should have given you a little more time to come around, or tried a little harder to persuade you differently. But, I didn't. Instead, I tried to move on. I went looking for someone who could love me back. When I met Hannah, I was still feeling adrift and she became someone I could anchor on to. We laughed together and had fun together and I convinced myself that we'd found love. But I was wrong Bones. The life we lived in Afghanistan wasn't a real life, not for me anyway. My real life is here . . . with my son, my friends, and my job at the FBI. These are what define who I am. When Hannah came to DC, these things weren't important to her and while we still had fun together, she wasn't really interested in getting to know the real me. Eventually, I realized that what I felt for Hannah wasn't love."

Booth reached up a brushed Brennan's hair back from her face as he cupped her cheek, wanting more contact with her before he continued. "No. Hannah was _my_ shiny bauble Bones, and I got distracted by her for a bit, but you're the one who owns my heart. I know now you always have, and you always will. Any marks Hannah made have already faded to naught."

Brennan observed the truth and sincerity in his warm brown eyes as he made his declaration and she believed him, at least with respect to his feelings for Hannah. She was still struggling to come to terms with his professed feelings for her.

To Brennan's way of thinking, it was very analogous to that night in front of the Hoover he referenced earlier. Back then, she'd spent years struggling to deny her attraction to Booth, largely because he'd never given her any reason to believe he saw her as a romantic prospect. Then that night, seemingly out of nowhere, he claimed she was 'the one' for him and that he'd known it from the beginning. She'd been caught unprepared for such an avowal and in her panic, had responded poorly. Now here she was again. Since _that night_, he'd not given her any real reason to think he was still interested in her, romantically, yet here he was, claiming to love her.

"How do you know that what you're feeling for me isn't just the result of chemical messages traveling throughout your limbic system?"

"Is that what you think your feelings for me are?" Booth turned the question back on her.

"In part, yes."

Based on Booth's startled expression, she knew she needed to explain further.

"What I mean is, I find you very attractive, both physically and intellectually and I frequently find myself behaving irrationally when you are around simply because it is pleasurable to do so." She was thinking specifically about his charm smile and the number of times she'd given in to him despite her initial inclinations simply because she knew complying with his wishes would bring him happiness, thus increasing her own pleasure. "Yes . . ." she mused ". . . I am definitely influenced by the chemical messages traveling throughout my own limbic system where you are concerned."

Booth looked down at their hands, clasped together in her lap while he composed his thoughts. He wanted to get this right. When he was ready, he looked back up at Brennan's face, making sure to establish eye contact because he knew how much she'd come to value that.

"Bones, am I attracted to you? Yes. Am I affected by chemical thingy's in my limbo system? Yeah. Probably. But it's not just your physical appearance that I find so beautiful. It's the caring way you watch over me when I get injured or hurt; it's the way you constantly challenge my convictions and help me understand things from another perspective; it's the knowledge that you think I'm a good man that makes me want to be an even better one; it's knowing that I can trust you with whatever's important to me, like my past, or Parker, or Pops. Most of the time when I'm with you, I'm happy and feeling good. Other times, you can make me angry or frustrated or downright cranky. But either way, you always make me feel alive. When I'm with you, I don't feel like I'm alone anymore." Booth lifted her hand and placed it over his heart. "In here Bones. And that's what makes what I feel for you different than what I've ever felt for anyone else before."

Brennan nodded her head in acceptance of his words, temporarily too overwhelmed with emotion to speak.

Booth figured they'd said what they needed to for the time being and that Brennan probably needed a little time to process. He stood up giving her a soft kiss on the top of her head and said "How about I go make us a late morning breakfast? You can come join me in the kitchen when you're ready."

Brennan entered the kitchen just a few minutes later to find Booth standing at the counter, scrambling some eggs in a bowl while watching over the bread he'd put in the toaster.

Without stopping to think or overanalyze, she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso, placing her cheek on his back. She felt him stiffen slightly so she started to pull away.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have . . ."

"No." Booth interrupted, grabbing her retracting arms and pulling them back around his chest. "No, it's fine Bones. More than fine actually. You just startled me. That's all."

Brennan relaxed back into him, nestling her cheek between his scapula and inhaling the comfortable and familiar scent of Booth.

"Booth? I want to give this a try. Us. Being together."

Booth turned around in her arms so they were facing each other and studied her face. She looked sure and confidant, not nervous or scared and he felt his heart swell in his chest.

"Alright Bones. From now on, I'm yours and you're mine, figuratively speaking. We're partners in every sense, no more 'just' in front of it."

Booth leaned down to seal their deal with a kiss and Brennan leaned forward, meeting him halfway. He didn't think he'd ever get used to the feel of her soft lips pressed against his and he couldn't help but deepen the kiss, probing her mouth with his tongue. Her arms which had been loosely linked around his torso tightened their grasp and he could feel the palms of her hands caressing him as she pressed her body more fully in to his. His own arms circled around her upper body and began to explore her back as they continued to tease and explore each other's mouths. Booth felt his arousal growing and the nearly overpowering desire to slide his hands down and cup her buttocks, pulling her more fully against him made him realize they needed to reign things in or they wouldn't be stopping at all.

When he lifted his head, they were both breathing a little unsteady. "We should probably slow down a bit Bones."

Brennan let out a heartfelt sigh and looked up at his softly smiling face. "I love you Booth. I want to touch you, and taste you, and learn everything there is to know about bringing you pleasure."

"I love you too Bones, and you have no idea how much I'd like to make love with you, but there's no rush. We can take as much time as we need to get there."

Brennan chuckled. "Booth, I've been celibate for almost 3 years with no relief in sight other than self-pleasure. I assure you, I'm ready. If you need a little more time, I can wait. Although, now that I know you're amenable to the idea of us eventually engaging in coitus, I can't promise not to try and help you evolve towards that objective as quickly as possible." This last was said with a saucy grin as she scraped a finger nail down his front from the top of his sternum down to his navel.

"Oh God Bones. Were you wanting some breakfast right now?"

"I can wait."

The words were barely out of her mouth before Booth swooped in and captured her lips with his again. Brennan looped her arms over his shoulders running her fingers into the short hair on the back of his neck and barely registered that Booth started walking backwards, towards his bedroom, without breaking the kiss.

Once they reached the bedroom, they took turns undressing each other and exploring one another slowly, both determined to bring their partner maximum pleasure. When they finally came together, it was unlike anything either of them had experienced before and everything Booth had ever described lovemaking to be. In the aftermath of their loving, they both reaffirmed their feelings.

"I love you Booth."

"I love you too Bones. Always."

Needless to say, Brennan didn't end up making it back to work again until Monday afterall.

THE END.

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><p><strong>AN:** _Thanks so much for sticking with me to the end. I hope you enjoyed this last chapter and that everything was wrapped up satisfactorily. _


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